Anything For Family, Even
by smartkid37
Summary: When the one you've sworn to protect and look out for through thick and thin needs your help, you find there isn't anything you wouldn't do - even something you've never done before – such as go to your boss for help. WARNING - Domestic Abuse situation and discussion
1. Chapter 1

_Thank you so much Gotta and Shelbylou!  
Never fear, we are still plugging away at "Betrayal"  
But this little bunny bit and wouldn't let go._

___Six months after "Penlope Papers" __  
__Without any other incidents with Tim's family - whatever they've been - having happened._  
_I haven't seen the season beyond Penelope Papers._

* * *

_April , 2012_

"Hey, McWorn out, you heading home or what?" Tony asked his teammate as he and Ziva both shouldered their gear bags in preparation for going home for the night. For some reason, Tim McGee remained sitting at his desk, reading through a file in front of him, even though the boss had just told them all to go home.

It had been a long, rough week and it was already going on 2300. Even having the weekend off was not enough of a pull to yank Tim away from his work, causing a stab of worry to course through the Senior Field Agent.

"Huh?" Tim McGee looked up from the document he'd been perusing, and looked over at his older teammate. "Oh, yeah, I'll be heading home soon. You two have a good night. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"That leaves it wide open, McSquare." Tony quipped.

When Tim failed to reply or even crack a smile, Tony's own grin faded. Without a word, he took himself over to his teammate's desk. "Hey, Probie. What's goin' on with you?"

"Nothing, Tony." Tim refused to look the older man in the eye as he quickly closed the file he'd been reading and fed him what he hoped would pass for 'good enough'.

"McGee." Tony's voice grew quiet with complete seriousness while the older man planted himself on the corner of Tim's desk, determined to ferret out the truth.

Tim looked up at the Senior Field Agent. "Tony, I'm fine."

"I get that you don't want me to know, McStubborn. But, if I find out you didn't ask for help when you needed it…"

"Like you, you mean?" Tim asked quietly as he stared at him. "You're not really gonna try and play that card with me are you, Tony?"

"My point, McCranky, is that I'm here for you if you need to talk. A blind man can see something's been bothering you; you've been carrying whatever it is around with you for a month now" Tony huffed out in aggravation.

Tim's surprise was written all over his face. He wasn't used to Tony acting like this.

"Yeah, didn't know you weren't so great at hidin' stuff like that, did ya, Probie?" Tony snarked as he stood up in preparation to leave. "You just remember what I said, McGee. I'm just a phone call away."

"Thanks, Tony." Tim replied cautiously as Tony walked away.

"Night, Boss." The Senior Field Agent offered as he headed past his own desk on his way to the elevator.

"Good night, McGee, Gibbs." Ziva voiced before joining Tony in his trek to the elevator.

"Night." The Boss replied absently while keeping his attention on the file he'd been reading.

As the chatter died down and the two departing agents stepped onto the elevator, and disappeared from view, Gibbs set the file down and looked over at his youngest agent. It hadn't missed his attention that Tim had been more distracted than normal lately or that he'd seemed almost angry more so than laid back like he used to be. It didn't take a genius to see that something was bothering him; something he was trying to handle alone. Tony had been right about all of that.

Sighing out loud, the Team Leader stood up and headed out around his desk. He deliberately stopped in front of Tim's and waited for the young man to look up. He was rewarded with immediate attention as his agent quickly looked up to see his boss standing right in front of him

"Boss?"

"There a reason you're still here, McGee?"

"Just tryin' to finish up."

"McGee. Reading a cold case is not finishing up." The Boss reminded him. "Pack up and get outta here."

Tim sighed. He really wasn't reading a cold case, the paperwork in front of him wasn't even work related, but it wasn't leading him anywhere either. It had been a month of looking and he still hadn't found anything. Sighing out loud yet again, he nodded and quietly answered the boss. "Okay."

Satisfied that his agent would do as he'd been instructed, Gibbs gave a slight nod in return. "Good. Better not be here when I get back."

Tim watched the older man head out, most likely in search of his next coffee. Shaking his head at the thought that brought just a touch of a smile to his face, Tim gathered up what he'd been his reading material, stowed it in his backpack, shut down his workstation, and headed out for the weekend. With still no answers in sight, it would be a long one, but maybe he would at least finally be able to catch up on his rest. Trying to find the answers to this mystery while staying on top of his game for work had really zapped his energy; luckily, he'd been able to hold it together.

As he walked to his car, he couldn't help but think back over the month he'd been struggling with this problem, this search that his gut was insisting he needed to do. Just as he'd gone all out for her before, he needed to do it again; even if she didn't want him to this time. Tim never enjoyed thinking back to those days when he'd laid his career on the line to protect Sarah, to get his team to help prove her innocence, when he'd gone so far as to lie to Gibbs. In fact, he hated remembering that last thought because it seemed to tear a piece of his soul from him every time he did.

Tim always felt sick when he thought about having lied to Gibbs during the case in which Sarah was framed for murder. Being an inherently honest person, he was uncomfortable with lying at any time and certainly to the one person he believed respected only his honesty and not much else. It had become evident to Tim over the years that honesty was the only thing Gibbs had found to respect in his junior agent, and Tim had never lost that feeling that he had strained that respect to the breaking point with Sarah's case. It left an ache deep down that had never completely gone away. He would NOT willingly do it again. It was little enough to be valued for as it was.

That was why he'd refused to put himself in that position this time. He needed the agency resources to do this research more thoroughly than he could do without those official avenues of digging, but he would not go there. With the crazy busy month they'd had at work, this was the first weekend they hadn't been working. He hoped he'd finally have time to devote to this; in fact, he was counting on it. His family was counting on it, even if they didn't know it.

*****NCIS******

Tossing his keys down on the table just inside his door and locking his weapon away, Tim toed off his shoes and made a beeline for his couch, sinking down in with a sigh of bliss as the softness cushioned his drop. He was so tired, he wasn't even sure how he'd made it home in one piece. Even as he laid his head back, his mind zoomed in on the source of all his recent worry. He has had to shove this problem to the side to do his job, and now it won't leave him alone. He was running out of time to do anything about it and he couldn't help but frown as he found himself thinking back to the night this whole ordeal had begun, exactly one month ago.

_**Flashback***_

_"You are still coming, right?" Sarah's voice demanded over the phone line as Tim held the phone tucked under his ear while unlocking his car door to get in. _

_"Yes, Sarah, I'm on my way, starting my car right now. But I have to tell you, I don't appreciate you forcing my hand like this when I just got home and I have to go to work in the morning. Really unfair of you."_

_After a crappy day at work, he was still doing his best to meet his obligations as her big brother. He couldn't help that he was supposed to have met her at the restaurant fifteen minutes ago. All he could do was hurry as fast as he could to try to make up the time._

_"This is your fault, Tim! Not mine!" His little sister's never ending griping reminded him sharply that always looking out for her, no matter what she'd done – was seriously coming back to bite him now, just as he'd always feared it would._

"_My fault? How the hell is this my fault?" he demanded angrily as he dropped down into the driver's seat._

"_I'll explain it when you get here, I swear. Now just hurry up, will ya? I'm starving!"_

"_Told you I'm on my way already. Give me a break, will you? Not like I haven't been working on a case all day or anything, you know?" For once Tim didn't wait for a response, hitting the end button on his phone and tossing it onto the passenger seat of his car, as he frowned. He really hated it when his sister pulled this crap on him. Why was it she'd become so selfish and self-centered that all that mattered was what she wanted or what kind of day she'd had?_

_Shaking his head, he drove to the restaurant where she was waiting for him already. He really hoped this was as important as she swore it was. If it wasn't and she was dragging him out late on a work night just to listen to her go off on another litany of griping and complaining about her life, he might be inclined to issue her a seriously sharp Gibbs' style head slap._

_Luck was with him on the drive to the less than trendy restaurant and he didn't get stuck in traffic, helping him make up a good ten minutes of the missing time. As he strolled into the place, his breathing finally calmed after all his rushing around, he spotted his sister right away, her flashy sweater that clashed with the much more subdued atmosphere, bathed in demure colors that didn't blind you when you glanced around the room._

_Sarah saw him and smiled at him, but she failed to do anything more than that, which in itself was rare, giving Tim reason to think something was going on here. Already, her pushiness to have this dinner tonight and unwillingness to move it to any other night, had sent up a red flag for him but he promised himself he'd see this through to the end before he said anything about it. Looking more closely at her, he could see she was stressed about this, a lot more than she'd been letting on. Straightening his backbone, he mentally pulled himself together, knowing his years as an investigator would serve him well tonight. He just hoped that watching and learning from Gibbs' ability to read people all these years would also not let him down now._

"_Hey, Tim. Thank you for agreeing to have dinner with me. I wanted you to meet Tom. Tom, this is my big brother, Tim." Sarah made the introductions short, obviously hoping to be able to move things along before anything became tangled up in difficult between the two men in her life._

_Tim, however, wasn't about to let her off the hook. She'd set herself on it and she was darn well going to stay there until he was satisfied this guy was okay and not a crook or a criminal or worse. Turning his full attention on to the just under six foot, ordinary looking, blonde haired slim but not exactly skinny guy Sarah had pointed to, Tim felt his jaw go slack. This was the man Sarah wanted him to meet? Was she serious? Just meeting his eyes, gave Tim the chills. He couldn't explain it but his gut was screaming at him that this guy was bad news._

"_Do you have a _**_little_**_ brother too?" Tom attempted to joke, although it fell flat and only served to highlight the tension in the air. He flashed a dazzling smile in Sarah's direction as he shook Tim's offered hand with little enthusiasm, "Nice to meet you, Tim."_

_Tim offered no smile in return as he could barely stomach the man's handshake. Seeing Sarah light up like a Christmas tree nauseated him even more. He did manage to force himself to say the polite words he knew he should be expressing. "Likewise. Although I'm surprised Sarah hasn't introduced us sooner, maybe even a night when I haven't been working all day or at least on one that I don't have to go to work in the morning." Tim pushed his point with an aggrieved look in his sister's direction._

"_Tim!" Sarah bit out sharply. "Enough! Alright? Jeez! You're gonna ruin everything!"_

"_What exactly am I going to ruin, Sarah?" Tim asked as he sat down across from the couple._

"_You told me I couldn't take any guy I was dating home to Mom and Dad until you'd first met him and checked him out." Sarah reminded him with more than a touch of sarcasm. _

_The haughtiness rubbed Tim the wrong way. Still, he kept his temper in check doing his utmost to remain calm and cool headed. He had a job to do here and letting his anger get away from him wouldn't get the job done._

"_Mmm. Hmm. Meant it, too." Tim's tone left no doubt he wasn't apologizing for his stipulation. He was, after all a Federal Agent and there was no way he was going to let his sister take anyone home to his parents who had not been thoroughly 'vetted' and approved. He couldn't be there to protect his family so this was the only way he was willing to compromise._

"_Okay? So, we're doing this your way." Sarah stated with something akin to an accusation, as if by doing things his way, she was being greatly inconvenienced. "You've met him, now you can check him out and tomorrow I'm taking him to meet Mom and Dad."_

"_Thought you said you were hungry?" Tim used his fingers to slide the menu closer to her. Even though her words sparked worry and unease in his gut, he refused to show it. At the same time, he wasn't backing down. She may now be over the age of 21, but that didn't lessen his role as her big brother - whether she liked it or not. He huffed to himself, it didn't' even matter if Tim liked it or not. The role was permanently his and he intended to continue filling do it to the best of his abilities. In this case, that meant thoroughly grilling this guy, a man she'd just admitted she cared enough about to take him home to meet their parents. It wasn't his problem if Sarah didn't see it that way._

"_Not hungry now." Sarah insisted._

"_Wouldn't be because you're worried, would it?" Tim smirked, unable to help himself._

"_You think this is funny, don't you?" She accused him._

"_Sarah, I'm tired. It's been a very long day, an even longer week and I have to be at work by 6:30 in the morning. I didn't pick the day to do this or the time, you did and you insisted on discounting my request to change the date. And you've deliberately refused to tell me what this was about until I got here so, as a matter of fact, I _**_don't_**_ think this is funny. What I _**_do_**_ think, is that it's serious. Just because I'm tired or because you've decided to manipulate this does not mean I'm not going to do my job as your big brother. And yes, Sarah, you _**_know_**_ you planned this so there would not be enough time, between me meeting Tom here and the time you leave to take him home to Mom and Dad, for me to find out anything about him beyond what you two might tell me tonight. That doesn't lessen my responsibility to look out for you – or for Mom and Dad - whether you like it or not." _

"_I understand completely, Tim" Tom was quick to offer despite the fact that no one had been talking directly to him._

_Tim's eyes snapped over to the younger man. "If that were true – you would have talked some sense into her and you would have both handled this a hell of a lot different than this. But now that we have that out in the open, let's order. Some of us need to get home and get some sleep tonight."_

_Five short minutes later, they'd ordered the appetizers and Tim got down to business. "How long have you known my sister?"_

"_Look, let's just cut right to the chase, here, alright? I know what you really want to know is my life story. You wanna know that I'm not the next Ted Bundy, nice guy on the outside but a serial killer on the inside, just waiting for the right time to kill her."_

"_That's not even funny!" Sarah barked out angrily. "Tom would never hurt me!"_

"_Then why doesn't one of you just answer the question?" Tim asked tiredly as he sat back and sipped his ice water._

"_Three months." Tom and Sarah answered in unison, smiling at each other as they spoke._

"_Three months?" Tim echoed in disbelief as he set his glass down before he dropped it in his lap. "That's it?"_

"_Why don't you just relax and let Tom tell you what we both know you want to know, Tim?" Sarah demanded impatiently. "Save us all the hassle of playing 20 questions."_

"_Okay. I'm listening."_

_The unreadable expression on Tom's face set up an immediate red flag for Tim. Still, he held his own expression in neutral and kept quiet while Tom began telling his tale._

_According to Tom, he was already thirty years old, had come from a perfectly normal childhood with two loving normal parents, had never gotten in trouble and studied hard enough that he had always been a straight 'B' student even in college where he'd earned his Bachelor's Degree in both English and English Literature. The guy had never married and even claimed he could count on one hand, the number of women he'd slept with. _

_By the time Tom had finished telling Tim everything he thought his girlfriend's brother was fishing for, their dinners were sitting in front of them and Tim had lost his appetite. Since Sarah had also earned her degrees in the exact same fields, she was a prime candidate to have just the right interests to attract this man to her. With enough red flags raised to permanently stop a NASCAR race, Tim couldn't help but feel the weight of his sister's safety on his shoulders. Then in one final stroke of storytelling, Tom announced that he'd never been as serious about a woman as he was about Sarah._

_Throughout the man's monologue, Tim had said nothing and even now, he kept his opinions to himself, choosing instead to sit back and watch his little sister's reactions and behaviors around this man she claimed to love. There was something missing. Tim couldn't put his finger on it, but he could feel it. There seemed to be much this guy wasn't saying and all Tim could think was that he was looking at a wolf in sheep's clothing. Now he just had to prove it._

_Sarah's attitude and her unwillingness to change the date and time of this meet and greet did nothing to ease Tim's gut feeling that this guy wasn't the stand-up guy he presented himself to be. Still, there was nothing he could yet do about it. With his gut churning, Tim couldn't stomach any of his dinner, and fought hard with himself to stay through the mindless flirting and whispering going on between his sister and this 'Tom' now that the guy's life story had been told; or at least as much as he was willing to be forthcoming about. Finally, having had enough and more than ready to let off steam, Tim stood. "I have to go. As I said, I have to work tomorrow." _

_Walking away, he stopped short as a sudden thought occurred to him. Turning back around, he asked, "By the way, do Mom and Dad know you're coming?"_

"_Of course they do. Why do you think we had to do this tonight?" Sarah boasted airily._

_Her big brother frowned as complete comprehension came to him. He knew exactly what game she was playing now. Apparently having Daddy's approval to bring a date home was paramount to being saved from any interrogations when they got there._

_Tim swallowed his anger and disappointment at his father's blasé' attitude regarding Sarah's safety and well-being. It was bad enough the man didn't give a damn what happened to Tim, but there was no excuse for being so lax about his daughter. He really hated to have to do this but it was time to call home._

_Mentally pulling himself together, Tim stuck to his guns. "Nice meeting you, Tom. Just remember, treat my sister right and don't hurt her or you'll be answering to me." Tim offered Sarah a faux half salute and then silently turned on his heel and headed out._

**_***NCIS***_**

___Out in his car, Tim yanked out his cell phone and called home for the first time in more years than he could count. The one time Penny had urged him to do it no longer counted in his book, since it hadbeen less than pleasant and had failed to produce any positive results._

"_Timothy?" His mother's voice rang out cheerfully through the phone line._

"_Hi. Mom. Is Dad around? I really need to talk to him."_

"_Oh, Honey, that's wonderful! I always knew you'd be the one to take the first step to fix this terrible mess between the two of you."_

"_I'm not calling about me or Dad, Mom. Can I talk to Dad, please?"_

"_Sure, Hon. Let me get him for you. What do you mean you're not calling about you or your father?"_

"_That Timothy?"His father's voice bellowed from the background on his mother's end of the call, loudly enough that Tim had no trouble hearing every word the Commander let loose._

"_Yes, Arthur, it's your son. He says he needs to talk to you."_

"_I have nothing to say to him. Why in the hell is he calling me?_

"_Mom, tell him I have to talk to him about Sarah."_

"_Timothy says he is calling to talk to you about Sarah."_

"_What about her? She'll be here tomorrow. He can talk to her when she gets back to D.C. Sunday night! He needs to leave her alone while she's here. Isn't it this weekend she's bringing her boyfriend with her?"_

"_Yes, Arthur."_

"_Mom!"_

"_What dear?"_

"_Please tell Dad I have to talk to him about Sarah's boyfriend!"_

"_I heard him! Give me the damn phone! You listen to me, Timothy and listen good! We don't need you sticking your nose in your sister's business! She's happy. Leave her be!"_

"_I don't trust him, Dad." Tim threw in before his father could completely shut him down._

"_What the hell do you know? You don't even know the man!"_

"_Dad, I just had dinner with them! I listened to his whole life story! Please, listen to me, there's something about him…I just….Dad, it doesn't feel right!"_

"_Blah! That's enough! Don't call here just to cause trouble for your sister. Matter of fact, don'tcall here anymore at all!"_

_Tim dropped his phone down to his lap after hearing the bitter sound of his father abruptly hanging up the phone. _

_That had certainly gone well._

_***End Flashback***_

Tim sighed heavily as his thoughts returned to the present. He reached out and turned off the engine of his car. With his breathing as calm as he could keep it, he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. Sitting here, parked in the boss' driveway, he had to remind himself how things had come to this point. In all the years he'd been on this man's team, he'd never done this, not once.

It wasn't that there hadn't been boatloads of times that he had wanted to. God knows, Tim could not even count the number of times he'd wanted to come here and confide in the man; even ask him for advice.

Unfortunately, he had never had the slightest inkling that he'd be welcomed, that he'd be able to find the words or even that the man would _want_ to help, so he'd never attempted it. Many a night had passed with Tim feeling so alone and lost with no one to turn to, especially on those nights that Penny had been unavailable to talk. Somehow, he'd made it through them all, even the nights he'd had to step up as big brother.

Sarah's continued attendance at a local college was a mixed blessing. On the one hand, Tim was readily available to help her or at least let her crash at his apartment or use the laundry facilities in his apartment building. On the other hand, this had sometimes stretched Tim's energy and his sanity to the limits of his endurance, but he'd managed to make it through that, too.

He couldn't help it if Sarah had chosen to flaunt his advice and do things her own way. This now included choosing someone she knew Tim wouldn't have approved of, as well as deliberately waiting until the last minute like this, before letting Tim even meet the guy.

It had been a month since she'd pulled that stunt and the email he'd received earlier today, and had barely had time to read, only sharpenedthe awful feeling he had in his gut that he was running out of time.

However he was smart enough to know he couldn't do anything about this on his own. He needed help. That was what had brought him here, to the boss. This time, he wasn't worried that the man wouldn't want to help. This was different because this was not about Tim.

Straightening his shoulders, he withdrew the key from the ignition and got out of the car. Making sure he locked it up tight, he took himself to the front door, his footsteps hesitant and heavy. Somehow, even now the man's 'door's always open' policy failed to ease Tim's unease about approaching him like this. That less than comfortable feeling led him to want to knock on the door, instead of just walking in uninvited.

*****NCIS******

"Hey, Boss." Tim's quiet greeting sounded nervous even to his own ears, bringing a grimace of dissatisfaction to his features. He hated that he was still nervous around the man - especially when it was just the two of them in the room.

Lowering the book he'd been reading while enjoying the solitude of his basement, the Team Leader watched his youngest agent slowly descend the stairs, his face a study in worry and nervousness tied together.

"Something wrong Tim?" Gibbs asked with all the seriousness due the first visit of his own volition his youngest agent had ever made to his home in all the years he'd known him. It had brought out the use of the young man's first name without conscious thought.

Tim's grip on the handrail tightened as he stopped mid-step and looked over at the man. It was disconcerting to hear that tone from him, not to mention his given name. Taking a breath and slowly letting it out, Tim nodded as he sat down on the step above where his feet had stopped. "I, ah… I think I need your help, Boss."

"Okay." Gibbs kept his tone calm since the young man had never before approached him like this; never before admitted needing the boss' help away from work before; hell, had never admitted needing help before; period.

Knowing the boss' tone also meant to get to the point, Tim swallowed hard and did just that. "Sarah's getting married."

Gibbs smirked. He knew Tim took being the big brother with complete seriousness. Hell, they all knew it. "McGee. Hate to break it to ya, but she's not gonna stay your baby sister forever." While he found it strange that Tim would come to him over feeling displaced in his sister's life, the Team Leader had a nagging feeling this visit wasn't quite so easily explained away.

"He's bad news, Boss." Tim admission came with such conviction and seriousness that all thoughts of this just being a case of the young man feeling out of place in his changing world flew right out the window.

"What makes you say that, McGee?" Gibbs asked, not even considering taking Tim lightly.

"He's one of those people that just leave you with that feeling."

"I'm guessing your parents don't believe you."

"How...? Never mind. Of course, you know, you're..."

"You wouldn't be here if they did, McGee."

"Oh. Right. It was a waste of time trying to talk to them. Guess this wa… I should just…Sorry. I'll go..." Tim got up and turned to go.

"You got any proof besides him giving you that feelin'?"

Tim turned back around and looked the older man straight on. "My gut."

Having said that and hearing the demand for more information within the man's tone, Tim sat back down with a sigh of frustration.

Gibbs nodded in understanding. "Background check?"

"Clean – at least as far as I could dig without agency resources."

"McGee! Family is everything – why would you let that stop you?" Gibbs asked angrily.

"Because I skirted the rules for her once before and it almost cost me everything. You asked me then why I hadn't come to you – so I'm coming to you now." Tim defended himself as he rose back to his feet angrily. "Sorry. Won't happen again." He took himself up the stairs as quickly as he could, nearly making it through the basement door before Gibbs could utter a sound. Tim's thoughts whirled faster than he could process them, _he had no one to go to now, he hated having been right about his boss not wanting to… he should have found a way to get his father … what to do now… he knew something was off …_

Gibbs watched in dismay as his youngest turned and angrily headed up the staircase. _Damn it, the first time he ever comes to me for help and I scare him off. What's got him so jumpy and defensive? Why didn't his parents listen to him, he's an investigator for God's sake. I thought things were better between them…Ah shit, need to fix this now. Need to stop him…_

"McGee!"

Stopping at the door, Tim sighed and turned back to face the music.

Without saying a word for a minute, the boss climbed the stairs and stopped next to his agent; his apology in his sympathetic look and his tone as he spoke once more. "C'mon, let's get some coffee and you can tell me everything, starting at the beginning."


	2. Chapter 2

_Episode Tag: __Family_ - _Tony calls an old friend "Donny" for help on a case._

* * *

Looking down at his sleeping agent, Gibbs frowned. _When had things gotten so difficult for this kid and why hadn't the Team Leader noticed before?_

Leaving Tim to sleep since it was obvious he was beyond exhausted; the Gibbs returned to his kitchen and refilled his coffee. Retreating to his basement, he couldn't help but think back over the conversation he'd had with Tim just two hours ago:

**Flashback**

_As Gibbs entered the kitchen and started making fresh coffee, he wondered again at McGee's parents. __Why would they doubt him? They raised him, they must know his integrity and inability to lie…and why would they think he would lie about this?_

_He motioned Tim to sit at the table and now he turned to him as he waited for the machine to finish brewing their coffee._

_"McGee, didn't Penny talk you into calling home back when we were working her case?"_

_"She convinced me, yes."_

_"How'd that go?"_

_"It didn't"_

_"Care to tell me about it?"_

_"There's nothing to tell, Boss. It was a waste of time and a mistake I wouldn't have made again except I was trying to do the right thing, trying to warn them about this guy. And that call went even worse than the first. My father pretty much disowned me for even trying to talk to him about Sarah's new guy."_

_"They're fools then, Tim."_

_"I appreciate that, Boss, but I'm used to it from my family, so can we please just talk about what we can do about this guy? I really need to stop this wedding if there's any chance I'm right and he's really a bad guy. There's not much time; I found out today the wedding's in two weeks."_

_Gibbs took a deep breath, still considering what McGee had just told him about his parents and the lack of support. Until the case with Penny, he'd had no idea Tim's background had been anything but complete with a normal happy family. He leaned toward the young man he'd come to think of as a son, to discuss the measures they needed to take to protect Tim's little sister, the McGee family including Tim and by extension their NCIS family. "Ok, Tim. Relax. We'll get him. Let's handle this just like a case, a suspect."_

_**End Flashback**_

Glancing at his watch, Gibbs realized it was barely 2 AM. No sense in waking his team up yet. They all needed sleep. Setting his alarm, he headed off to bed, stopping to check on Tim one last time as he went.

*****NCIS******

Morning found Tim feeling like a mac truck had been driving through his head all night. Groaning, he sat up and laid his head back against the back of the couch. Closing his eyes, he thought back to the unexpected events of last night. Never in a million years would he ever have expected himself to come to Gibbs for help. As a wave of relief washed through him, Tim found the energy to get up. He needed coffee and as he looked at his watch, he realized the boss would probably be looking for his first cup of the day, soon, too.

Sure enough, by the time he had the coffee brewing, Gibbs put in a silent appearance, greeting Tim with little more than a grunt and an uplifted mug of coffee as soon as he'd taken the proffered cup from Tim when the younger man held it out to him. Gibbs headed out of the room, only to come back moments later with the morning paper. Tossing it down on the kitchen table, he pulled the sections out that he wanted and turned his complete attention to reading.

Smiling, Tim remained standing at the coffee maker and drank his coffee down in one go. Rinsing his cup and setting it in the sink, he moved to go. "Thank you for hearing me out, Boss, and for letting me crash on your couch last night. I'm just gonna go now."

Lowering the newspaper down to the table, Gibbs looked at him over his reading glasses. "You got somewhere to be?"

Tim smiled softly. "No. I mean, I need to go get digging deeper into this creep's life but…"

"Already talked about this, McGee. Not gonna get anywhere on an empty stomach. Sit "

Smirking at the boss' way of thinking, Tim did as he was told, sitting down at the table across from the older man. A few silent minutes later, Tim felt the beginnings of frustration rise up within him since Gibbs had returned his attention to his paper and there wasn't a sign of breakfast in sight.

"Something else on your mind?" Gibbs asked from behind his newspaper.

"Just tryin' to figure out wha…"

"Mornin' Boss, Probie!" Tony's unexpected voice boomed from the doorway.

"Bout time, DiNozzo." Gibbs griped as he finally lowered his paper, this time, setting it on the counter behind him.

"Hey, don't shoot the delivery boy, Boss." Tony joked as he set the bagged breakfast sandwiches down on the table in front of the older man.

"Hmm." Gibbs answered as he dug into the bag and withdrew six sandwiches, sliding two each towards Tony and Tim, respectively before standing up and heading over to brew a fresh pot of coffee. "Eat. Got work to do."

Ten minutes later with breakfast out of the way, Gibbs sent Tim up to shower and change and took advantage of the time to bring Tony up to speed on what was needed and why. As he'd expected, Tony immediately let his experience as a street beat cop lead his thinking.

"Let me put a tail on him, Boss."

"Not yet, Tony. Let's dig as deep as possible first. Find something to prove he's as dangerous as McGee thinks he is."

"Boss, …"

"Something on your mind, DiNozzo?"

"Probie came to you? Actually asked you for help with this?" Tony's sense of disbelief was hard to miss.

"That surprises you?"

"Well, yeah, Boss. I mean he's never done it before, right?"

"We're talking about his sister's safety here, Tony. Why wouldn't he ask for help when his parents blew him off about it?"

"Well, yeah, I can understand that. But, _you_?"

Gibbs glared at his Senior Field Agent. "Ya think maybe he's figured out he can trust me?"

"On the job, sure, Boss. But, in his personal life?"

Tim chuckled from behind them in the doorway. "I trust Gibbs a heck of a lot more than I trust you, Tony."

"Hey, Probie, I resent that!"

"Just tellin' you like it is, Tony."

"It's still cold, Probie."

"Hey! Knock it off, will ya? Let's go already!" Gibbs left the room, clearly expecting them to follow him.

*****NCIS****  
**

An hour later found them knee deep in Agency resources-aided digging, the three of them all silently typing away and stopping only to read through what they were finding.

"Gibbs. Something going on you'd like to tell me about?" Vance's voice carried through the otherwise empty squad room

Sighing in frustration, Gibbs stopped typing, removed his glasses from his face, set them on his desk and stood up. Glancing over to his agents, he kept them on task despite this newest concern. "Keep looking. We'll regroup when I get back."

Watching as Gibbs headed upstairs to face whatever Vance felt like dishing out, Tim frowned and sat back in his seat in defeat. "Great. Just what I didn't want."

"Relax, Probie. Gibbs can handle it. But he'll be pissed if he finds out you let this stop you from continuing to dig deepr on this guy." Tony reminded him.

Tim nodded. "You're right." Tim nodded and returned his attention to his computer searches. He wasn't happy with not being able to find anything on this 'Tom' character. He knew that he knew that there was something not right with him. _Why couldn't he find it?_

Frustrated, he pushed himself away from his desk and left the squad room, snatching up his coffee cup as he went. _Damn it, why couldn't he find anything on this guy?_

*****NCIS******

"C'mon, Leon! You gonna stand there and tell me that if this creep was getting ready to marry your daughter, you wouldn't wanna know without a shadow of a doubt that he wasn't hiding any criminal history?" Gibbs demanded now that he'd been treated to a few minutes of silence radiating with anger from the man in charge.

"No, of course not, Gibbs. But that doesn't give him the right…."

"I gave him permission, Leon! He came to me for help and I promised him he'd get it. It's the first time he's **_ever_ **come to me for help. You gonna force me to let him down? It's not like he's asking to hack into anything. All he wants is the same access we have when we're tracking our dirt bags."

"Alright. Permission granted. But, no hacking! Are we clear?" Vance glared at the Team Leader, the ever present toothpick clenched between his teeth.

"Why, because it's not the life of a child at stake, just McGee's little sister?" Gibbs quipped in return as he headed to the office door.

"Cheap shot, Gibbs"

"Doesn't make it wrong, does it?" The Team Leader left, too wound up to stay in the same room with his boss now. The more he thought about it, the less he liked the situation. He wished he had a valid reason to give Tim permission to hack into whatever mainframe he thought necessary to find the dirt on this 'Tom' character. But he knew that Vance was right.

Walking to the coffee shop, he managed to calm his inner ire enough that he was able to enjoy his coffee on the way back. He needed to maintain an outward calm if he was to be of any help to Tim in this. Walking back into the squad room, he was surprised to find Tony alone in their workspace.

"Where's McGee?" Gibbs asked as he set Tony's coffee down on the Senior Field Agent's desk.

"Probably chewing his bottom lip off in the break room. I don't think I've seen him this frustrated in a long time, Boss."

"Mmm. I figured."

"Why? What do you mean, you figured? You knew we wouldn't find anything on this guy?"

"Already told you, Tony. Tim's been looking for the past month. Finding anything else on him was a long shot. Go get McGee. Time to regroup."

"I'm here" Tim spoke as he walked in from the back, toward his desk.

"Alright, talk to me. Whattaya we got?"

*****NCIS*****

Tony had a plan and he was determined to set it in motion. The fact that he was doing this on his own, without telling the boss added just enough unease to the situation to keep him alert and on his toes. Thinking back for a second, Tony had to smile. _Wait a minute! Gibbs had smirked at him as he'd left and hadn't that look been the one that demanded that he not screw up this chance? _

They didn't have any time to waste on this and they hadn't made any headway on their own earlier in the day. The rocks they'd been able to turn over on this guy hadn't produced anything of any use to them. Tony sighed as he sat as look out man for this stage of the maneuver. He was glad Probie had been easily convinced to go home and get a good night's sleep. The poor guy had been so fed up and frustrated, it had almost painful to watch. Come to think of it, maybe the fact that the boss had literally ordered Tim to crash at his place was the very reason Tim had given in without a fight.

It was days like these that had Tony feeling relieved that he still had friends in the Baltimore PD. Speaking of which, Tony returned his attention to the task at hand, expecting one of those very friends to be making an appearance any minute now, as part of the plan. Sure enough, the quick flash of headlights as they appeared at the far end of the street brought his thoughts back on target. This was it. They couldn't afford any screw-ups. The game plan was on and it was almost show time. He and Donny were in their places. Now all they had to do now was wait.

According to what they already knew, their target was scheduled to arrive at the far end of the street, driving right by Tony's location, any minute now. As he sat looking backwards over his backseat, he focused his binoculars on that end of the street, Tony spotted their target turning their way. With a quick zoom in look to verify that it was their target and not some innocent random person, Tony signaled his friend quickly before the other driver could have noticed and then slid down in his seat so he wouldn't be visible to passing motorists, video camera zoomed in for the upcoming up close and personal clash.

Tony couldn't help but smile as his buddy Donny's vehicle headed down the street for its datewith their intended target, its engine just loud and distinctive enough that there was no question whose vehicle it was.

Sure enough, it wasn't even a minute later the noise of a fender bender rent the airwaves. Tony winced as he thought of what his friend's car would look like now, the sacrifice it had just made for the sake of this mission. His attention was soon drawn to the now raised voices of both drivers who had just collided on the darkened street. This was it, the moment they needed; the one they'd done all they could to facilitate. Raising himself up slightly in the seat, Tony made sure to record every minute of this quickly heating up confrontation.

"What the hell's wrong with you, man? Are you drunk? How the hell could you not see me?" The irate driver was nearly screaming now.

"Look, I'm sorry. It's getting dark out, guess I must have misjudged the line between us." Donny's weak excuse had the desired effect.

"Are you kidding me? Any moron can see that yellow line! What'd you get your license out of a Cracker Jack box or something?"

"Look, I'm sorry. Let's just trade insurance information and go on about our business, alright?" Donny deliberately remained calm, working to push the other man's buttons little by little.

"Insurance?" The other driver asked now as if suddenly nervous.

"Yes. Insurance. What company are you covered by?"

"Uhm. I don't remember. Lemme check the paperwork in the glove box." The now anxious driver stuck his head inside his passenger car door, presumably to search his glove compartment for the necessary paperwork, but came back in mere minutes with a full-blown look of agitation on his face. "Look, I know I have it, alright? I just can't find it right now."

Donny put on a show of being seriously put out by this news. "Are you kidding me? I don't have time for this, man! Fine, just tell me what company you're insured with and I'll call them myself."

"Wait a minute! That's not how it works! How do I know I can trust you? How do I know you're not gonna file some bogus claim saying I totaled your car?" The driver was agitated enough now that he had stepped closer and closer to Denny's personal space and was even bordering on invading that space.

"Calm down, man. Back off a little, alright?" As he put his hands upright between them to show some space, the irate driver flipped out.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Throwing his own hands up, he pushed Donny away, hard enough that it gave the detective enough leeway to appear completely off balance as he let the fall happen, deftly reaching into his back pocket before his body met the ground.

With a look of utter scorn, the other driver left Donny on the ground and turned away, obviously set on leaving the scene of the accident. With his guard down, it didn't take much to take him by surprise when, with the agility of a spring buck, Donny was up off the ground and pinning him to the hood of his own car before he realized just how fast Donny could move.

"You gonna be charged for assaulting a police officer and for attempting to leave the scene of an accident. Oh, yeah and for failure to produce title and registration and insurance upon request. Three fines, three tickets, all in one go. You're having a bang-up day, aren't you, man?"

"What the hell's going on? This is entrapment, man! You can't do this!" The other driver ranted angrily, his arms stretched out behind his back while his hands remained securely cuffed.

"I wasn't luring you into anything. I wasn't the one who stepped into my personal space and I wasn't the one who did the pushing. I did, however, cuff you as a precaution. Don't want you tryin' anything like running or turning on me while I document this scene." Donny returned evenly as he helped the guy stand back up straight and tugged him towards the detective's car… "The rest is all on you, Buddy."

"Not your buddy!"

"That's true. You're not. But we haven't even gotten to exchanging names yet and you're already trying to leave. So, Whattaya say we fix that? License?"

"In my wallet in my back pocket." The driver's voice was full of resignation. He knew he had no way out of this.

"Alright. I'm gonna just reach in and pull your wallet out, okay?

"Yeah, whatever."

Donny did as he warned he would do and extracted the man's wallet, flipping it open to reveal the license. _Tom Richardson_. That you?"

"You see the photo, don't you?"

"Hmm. Good point. And your registration?"

"Already pulled it out of the glove box when I was looking for the insurance card. It's in the passenger seat." Tom nodded his head towards his car as he spoke.

"Okay. Tell you what. Why don't you just sit here and I'll go get it. You object to me searching your car for any contraband?"

"Damn right, I object. Don't feel like cooperating with you after the way this has gone down."

"Okay. That's fine. You're entitled to refuse. I haven't arrested you yet."

"Man, can we just get on with this?" Tom demanded impatiently.

"As soon as I get your information and I get done processing the scene of the accident, I'll get you to the police station and get you officially charged and booked in. In the meantime, why don't you just calm down?

From behind the video camera a short distance away, Tony could barely hold the camera steady as he fought to hold in his laughter. He managed to huff out a silent laugh, thankful he wouldn't be recorded with that. As he continued to record, he couldn't help but hope that this would give them what they needed; Tom's prints and consequently a surefire gateway to whatever information was out there associated with those prints. Tony's attention was snapped back to the ongoing situation when the irate voice of their collared suspect reached his ears.

"So, you're telling me, I'm stuck here until you're done." Tom whined

"I'm afraid so." Donny said as he continued to walk around the two vehicles snapping photos of the accident.

"Great! We'll be be here til midnight!"

"Not if you let me continue to work."

"Fine. Whatever. Look can I at least make a phone call?"

"As soon as I'm done, I promise to dial the number for you. Heck, I'll even hold the phone up to your ear for you." Donny smirked as he replied cheekily.

"Wise-ass cop." Tom muttered.

"You always so short tempered like what you pulled here?" Donny asked with a tone that offered some concern.

"No."

"I noticed a ring on your finger. Married are you? That who you need to call?"

"Engaged."

"Lucky guy."

"She's the lucky one." Tom crowed haughtily.

"Oh, one of those situations huh? Can't say I've heard of a lot of them, though, just a few. What she not pretty enough or something?"Donny pushed, hoping to get more information from him.

"Nah, she's cute enough." Tom corrected nonchalantly. "She's just not loaded enough."

"But you do love her, right? I mean you're not one of those un-cool guys that marries a girl even though they don't love her? I mean if she' not loaded and she's not a model or anything, you can't be marrying for looks or money, so…"

"Man, why you playing 20 questions like you're trying to be my friend or something?"

"Just curious man. Now me? I've never found a woman to accept me just as I am – you know, without trying to change me."

"Tell me about it. They're never satisfied; always trying to fix what isn't even broken. I'll tell you what, if it weren't for her determination to get one over on that overbearing brother of hers and pull a fast end-run around him so he'll stop interfering in her business, she probably wouldn't have agreed to marry me in the first place."

"Then why marry her, man?" Donny stopped snapping photos and looked Tom dead on as he asked the question.

An almost evil look filtered through the handcuffed man's averted eyes as he answered the question with deadly quiet. "I want her and I never let anyone stop me from getting what I want."

Ignoring the dangerous feel that had come over the situation, Donny pushed the man further, now wanting some answers for himself. He almost shuddered to think of this man marrying anyone's sister. "Doesn't sound like she's in love with you yet."

Tom blinked and the dark look was gone, replaced with a far-off look that was no more normal than the last look had been. "She is; she just doesn't want to admit it yet. They never do."

"They?"

"Women. You know. They never want to admit when they're in love. They've got this unwritten rule that says the guy has to admit it first."

"Yeah, they do seem to operate with that frame of mind, don't they?" Donny threw in there to randomize the question. "Unfortunately for you, Tom. Your temper getting away from you here tonight might slow you down a bit. When's the wedding?"

With the detective's tone now one of sympathy and empathy, Tom was quick to volunteer the information Tony had told the detective they needed to ferret out. "Next Saturday at her parents' house."

"Oh, so the parents approve but Big Brother doesn't." Donny observed almost nonchalantly. "Well, good for you, man. Sticking to your guns is important. So, the wedding – big shindig?"

"Nah. Just her folks, her and me."

"And the minister, I hope." Donny offered with a smirk.

"Well yeah." For the first time since they'd had the fender bender an hour ago, Tom cracked a smile.

Wanting to keep him off-guard and talking, Donny kept the tone of the conversation friendly and almost completely agreeing with his attitude. "Sounds like you got everything planned out. Tell you what – I hate to spoil anyone's upcoming wedding so whattaya say we forget all about this little incident, huh?" Donny uncuffed Tom and put the cuffs back in his back pocket.

"You'd do that?"

"Yup. So long as you sign this warning here. Don't worry – it won't go on your record. I just need it – you know – C.Y.A. and all."

"Oh, right." The relief in Tom's voice was almost tangible and he took the bait like a starving fish out of water. "No problem." He quickly signed the proffered paper and took back his wallet and registration Donny handed him.

"Make sure you get a copy of that insurance policy ASAP, man. If you get stopped again without it – it won't look good for you."

"I'll take care of it, first thing in the morning. I swear."

"Good enough. Nice meeting you, Tom." Donny stepped back as if giving the man room to go on his way.

"Wait. I didn't get your name."

"Officer Smith. Have a nice night. Good luck with the wedding." Donny replied with a straight face as he quickly turned to get into his own car. Without wasting any more time, the detective put the car in reverse, and edged out around Tom's car, quickly disappearing down the street and was soon gone from sight.

Tony huffed out another silent laugh as he kept the camera going. He knew the good stuff was yet to come, now that Tom had been brought to the brink of being arrested and then released as if nothing had happened. The guy had no rap sheet so this must be a first time experience for him and that would shake up most people. And who was he so hell bent on calling earlier? Tony hoped it was Sarah.

As if answering Tony's prayers, Tom dug his cell phone out and punched a speed dial number. But the red flag went up in the Senior Field Agent's mind while he watched as Tom literally wiped off the stormy expression while running his hand over his face, as if wiping it clean. In its place was now a look of utter calmness.

"Hey, Sarah. I'm gonna have to take a rain check on dinner. We'll do it tomorrow night instead. No, I didn't forget that you have to grade papers. That's _not_ more important than eating. You _have_ to eat and you _know_ I hate eating alone. I know sweetheart but something came up. Sarah! I _said_ something came up! _Drop it!_ It's alright, Baby, I forgive you… You're just disappointed and you've had a long day. I understand. We'll have dinner tomorrow night and everything will be fine, alright? And besides, after next Saturday, we'll have lots more time to spend together and stuff like unexpected situations won't be near as much a problem. Alright…. That's right… same time, same place, tomorrow night. I love you, Baby. Good night… I'll be glad to see you tomorrow night, too, Baby…. Yeah, I agree this traveling for the job is hell. Can't help it though, right? … I know. You've been real understanding about it, Baby. Until tomorrow night then. Good night."

As he watched Tom snap his phone shut, he couldn't help but notice the anger that had put the rigidness back in the man's spine and replaced the calm look with the stormy one once more. With the camera still rolling, Tony thanked his lucky stars that the man had turned to watch Donny leave and had remained facing that end of the street the entire time he'd made the phone call.

With dread twisting his gut, Tony watched the other man begin to pace agitatedly, as if talking with Sarah had set him off. "Damn it, why does she _do _that? I'm sick of always having to pacify her! Need for this stupid wedding to be done with already! The crap I have to go through just to get this girl to sleep with me! I mean, who the hell _does_ that anymore? Refuse to sleep with a guy until he marries her? What did she grow up in the fifties or something? Unbelievable. Better be glad I won't see her tonight – might wind up knockin' her off that pedestal of hers! God, I need Anna!"

Flipping his phone back open, Tom smiled softly, all traces of anger and agitation gone completely from his face. "Hey, Baby. You got some time for me tonight? Yeah, it's been a bad day and I really do need you tonight. I knew I could count on you, Anna. I'll be right there. I'll never forget you for this, Baby."

Snapping his phone shut yet again and stuffing into his pocket, Tom snapped open his car door, threw himself down into the seat and revved the engine. In no time flat, his car was gone with the screech of tires and the smell of burnt rubber, leaving a shocked and doubly motivated Tony DiNozzo behind, still rolling the camera on him.

*****NCIS******

Standing around the big screen monitor in Abby's lab, Tony, Donny and Gibbs watched with mounting frustration and anger – as Tony's video-recorded tape of the incident played out in front of them. Abby couldn't stop herself from watching it with careful scrutiny as soon she'd put the fingerprints she'd been able to take off both the pen and the document Tom had signed, into the system so she could start a search for a match.

Ziva returned with a tray full of hot drinks for all of them and silently handed them out before coming to a standstill in front of the screen, turning her attention to what they were witnessing. "And why do McGee's parents not believe him about this man?" She asked the group in general.

"Because they're idiots." Gibbs muttered. He wished Ducky were here;. He could really use the M.E.'s input on this, but he knew it wouldn't be right to break the older man away from the weekend plans he'd made to spend time with Jimmy and Breena at her family's home. The three of them had been looking forward to it for a month now and this wasn't something the team couldn't handle without him

"Gibbs! They just wanna see Sarah happy and she's apparently happy with this guy!" Abby protested.

"No, Abbs. That's not all they want. They want Tim to stay out of it. Completely. They don't wanna be bothered with finding out Tim might be right about this dirt bag." Gibbs argued back. "But, we're not gonna let anything happen to his little sister if we can help it."

"Don't you think you might be overreacting just a tad bit here?" The Lab Rat pushed. "There's not a single thing on his record - the guy's never even had a parking ticket!"

"You tellin' me you don't see anything wrong with this guy, Abbs?" Gibbs demanded angrily.

"No, I'm just saying I can see what Sarah might see in him." She returned stubbornly.

"Yeah. Thought Michael Mawher would have cured you of finding bad guys attractive a long time ago, Abby." Tony remarked seriously.

"Abby. this man is a loose cannon, hiding behind a mask. For all we know he will take off that mask only behind closed doors and then what will happen to Sarah?" Ziva explained quietly.

"Okay! I get it, okay? I hope you can stop him from marrying Sarah. Where _is_ Timmy, by the way?" Abby asked. "I would have thought he'd be here to watch this."

"Didn't want him seeing this." Tony's answer, loaded with anger kept Abby from saying anything more on the idea. "He's sleeping peacefully."

"It is about time, too." Ziva added. "He has not been getting enough sleep for a long time now."

"I know." Gibbs added. "been workin' himself into the ground for a month trying to get dirt on this bastard and do his job, too."

"Well, we've got the proof we need now, right?" Tony pushed. "I mean, Donny here, really helped us out on this one and we got what we needed on the guy, right?"

"Appreciate the help, Detective." Gibbs offered gruffly before turning his attention back to the big screen as Tom was calling Sarah.

Without another word spoken between them, the team watched and listened as the tape showed them exactly what kind of man had gotten his grubby little hands on Sarah McGee – their surrogate little sister, even if she didn't know it yet.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Apparently the time frame of this story bears repeating - at least for "Guest"_

_**Six months after "Penlope Papers" **  
**Without any other incidents with Tim's family - whatever they've been - having happened.**_

_Let's take a minute to clear up a few misconceptions – as so politely shared with us by "Guest"_

_With the time frame being the end of "Penelope Papers" – we know that its been seven years since Tim's talked to his father._

_We also know, that according to Tim's character – he forgives almost everything ever done to him, and is always quick to mend fences with those who have hurt him – therefore, whatever happened between him and his dad – must be very big and very hurtful._

_At no time, did Tim ever say – that the card incident when he was seven had anything to do with why he and his father are estranged. – although any parent who criticizes a seven year old child's creativity instead of encouraging it is just plain cruel._

_We have seen Tony reconcile with his father._  
_We have seen Ziva reconcile with her father._  
_We have **not** seen Tim reconcile with his father because we were not privy to the exact contents of that phone conversation - leaving us the blank slate with which to write this story_

_Now, having said that, let us return to our story._

* * *

"You got him? You really caught him?" Tim's voice reverberated through the air, the relief he was feeling almost palpable. " That's great! So, he can't marry Sarah now, right? He's gonna be doing time instead?" His questions were met with a stunned silence because the video proof had been staring them all in the face all morning but no one had expected Tim to see it.

He'd silently come up the back stairwell and walked into the squad room while they'd been playing it on the big screen, pausing it every now and then to point and comment on some aspect of what they'd seen. Faced with the hard chore of telling the young man that they were no closer to nabbing the dirtbag for any specific crime, the silence among them grew heavy and uncomfortable.

Tony exchanged a pained look with Gibbs before stepping up and being the bad guy on this one. "No, McGee." He answered as he clamped what he hoped was a comforting hand down on his teammate's shoulder. "He's not gonna be doin' any time. He never got charged."

"What? It's right there on tape! He should be facing several counts! Why the hell didn't you charge him?" Tim turned to the detective since he knew that he had to be there for a reason that had to do with this case.

"I'm sorry, Agent McGee. I handled it the way I thought would best get us what we needed without spooking him." Donny offered quietly but with unmistakable conviction. "And without dragging your sister into it. She would have shown up to bail him out and I didn't think we wanted to risk that."

"How could you just let him walk?" Tim yelled angrily, as if he hadn't heard what had just been explained to him. "You had him on a legitimate charge – several, even – and you just let him go?"

Though they'd rarely seen Tim McGee this angry, the young man did need to be reined in. "McGee!" Gibbs barked severely.

Shockingly enough, Tim barely stopped his almost manic pacing at the sound of his boss' yell. Worse, he refused to even look at him. He was too overcome by anger and confusion to leave any room for calm and rational thinking.

Tim's shoulders sagged as his footsteps paused and silence returned to the squad room, for all of two seconds before Tony attempted once more, to reach out to his teammate, "McGee, look, w…"

Tim shook his head, backed up and pivoted on his heels, bolting from the squad room, as he hit the stairs he'd just come from. He couldn't look at any of them right now, could not fathom how they'd set him up, had him and just let him go like that. Now, they'd never get him on anything because they'd scared the guy straight and it would be harder to get his true colors to come out.

Taking himself over to the bench overlooking the water by the Barry, Tim sat and worked to pull himself together. He'd had his moment of righteous indignation and now it was time to get back to work trying to save Sarah from this monster hiding in plain sight. Digging for dirt on this guy hadn't come up with anything. Maybe Abby had found something on him through his prints. Standing back up, he turned to go back inside, suddenly wanting to talk to Abby and not just about the prints.

Before he could take a step, he found himself brought up short at the sight of Gibbs standing a short distance away, watching him, as if trying to figure out how to ream him out for his earlier behavior. Tim knew he'd been out of line and he knew he owed them all an apology. But he also knew Gibbs would just head slap him for offering him one. Then again, he suddenly felt like Tony did, reassured that the man cared enough to give one, although without actually raising his hand to Tim's head.

Smiling softly in an offer of apology, Tim continued to walk back to the building, knowing Gibbs would stay in step with him. "Now that we've spooked him into behaving, we'll be lucky if he even looks at anyone funny. Guess we can hope Abby found something on him through his prints."

"McGee." Gibbs stopped walking, expecting Tim to do the same.

Tim did as he was expected and looked at the man who obviously had something on his mind.

"What are you doing here?"

"Boss, I can't lie around and do nothing while you guys do all the work. This is my problem, remember?"

"No, McGee. It's our problem. Or don't you remember asking for my help?"

"Of course I do." Tim replied almost reverently.

"How long did it take to convince yourself to let you ask me, McGee?"

Tim smiled softly. The boss really did know him, better than Tim had given him credit for.

"And yet, less than 24 hours later, you're changing your mind."

"What? No! No, I'm not!"

"Then slow down, do as I say and stop going off half-cocked." Gibbs instructed firmly.

"Yes, Boss." Tim nodded as he accepted the correction within the instructions.

"Are we clear?" Gibbs pushed.

"Yes, Boss."

"Alright. Let's get back to work."

"Yeah." Tim agreed as they resumed walking to the building.

"You really think he's not gonna make a mistake now, don't you?"

"Yeah. I do, Boss."

"Well, let's hope you're wrong, huh?"

"Did Abby find anything from his prints?"

"Nope. Not even a parking ticket."

"Maybe I should just call Sarah. Haven't talked to her since we had dinner that night. Heck, I think the only reason she even sent me that email bragging that they're getting married in 2 weeks – was to rub my face in it."

"Think she'll talk to you?"

"I can hope."

"What is it you think she'll say that will help?"

"I'm not sure, Boss. I just feel like I have to try to reach out to her.

"Want you to see something first. Then you'll have something to talk to her about."

"Okay."

*****NCIS***  
**

As they returned to the squad room, Tony's detective friend was just leaving and Tim was quick to apologize profusely to the man. "I'm so sorry for going off on you earlier. I really do appreciate the way you tried to help – send me the repair bill for your car, please."

"Agent McGee, I know this is hard, but trust me, treading carefully with this guy is important."

"I know you're right. I am sorry."

"No problem. Glad to help, actually. Was kinda fun. See ya round, Tony!"

"Thanks again, Donny!" Tony shouted from back at his desk.

Turning around, the detective went down in the elevator and Gibbs reminded Tim they'd come back to the squad room for a reason." C'mon, you need to see this."

Meeting his Senior Field Agent's angry glare over the idea of showing Tim exactly what Tom had done to his sister behind her back last night; Gibbs stared back unflinchingly. Tim needed to know and what's more, Tim was made of sterner stuff than Tony gave him credit for.

Clearing his throat, Tim managed to end the impasse, "Okay. Show me what you've got on this creep."

*****NCIS*****

Thirty minutes later, having seen the complete tape from start to finish while his team surrounded him supportively, Tim was not only convinced he was right about Tom but also right in needing to talk to Sarah. Gibbs was right too. Now that his suspicions were confirmed, did he want Sarah to know?

"I still think I need to call her, Boss." Tim's quiet tone spoke volumes as to how upset he was about what he'd seen on the tape.

Gibbs nodded. "Put it on speaker."

Tim breathed out nervously. "Okay." Sitting down at his desk, Tim reached into his pocket and drew out his cell phone, hitting the speed dial number for his sister, putting it on speaker and setting the phone on the desk.

As the phone rang on the other end, Tim twitched nervously Tony clamped his hand down on his shoulder for a minute before withdrawing it and crouching down next to him where they'd be eye level.

Smiling softly in appreciation, Tim drew out a breath and worked to regulate his breathing.

_"What do you want Tim? _Sarah's less than hospitable greeting reeked of bitterness.

"Hello Sarah. I'm guessing from your tone that you haven't changed your mind about what we talked about."

_"Why do you care? _She demanded haughtily.

"Sarah. You know you've always been important to me. I've been looking out for you since you were born."

_"I know, Tim. I've always known I could depend on you, no matter what trouble I got into. . Always counted on it, too."_

"Then why are you doubting what I'm telling you now?"

_"Because, Tim, you haven't told **me** anything! You were quick enough to tell **Daddy** that Tom is bad news, but you didn't bother telling me anything."_

Tim ran a hand through his hair agitatedly as Tony locked eyes with him to keep him grounded. Smiling with his trademark small smile of gratitude, Tim nodded and turned back to the call. "Would you have listened?"

_"Maybe. Maybe not. But, now we'll never know." _Sarah announced angrily._ "You're supposed to be honest with me, Tim, not do an end run around me to Daddy."_

"Honest?" Tim scoffed. "You're talking to me about being honest?"

From across the room, Gibbs shook his head at where this conversation was going.

_"What's that supposed to mean?"_

"Nothing. Sarah. Nothing. Did Tom's car make it through the fender bender alright?" Tim changed the subject enough to grab his sister's attention.

_"What fender bender?"_

"The one he had last night just before he called you and told you he needed a rain check for dinner."

_"You were spying on him? How dare you!"_

"No, Sarah, I wasn't spying on him. He had a fender bender with an off duty cop, their cars have dashboard cams."

_"Why are you doing this? Are you really so petty and jealous of Tom that you'll do anything to try to stop me from marrying him?"_

"Whaat? No! Sarah that's not what this is about. You have to….."

_"I don't have to do anything you say. Even Daddy says so. So you take your jealousy and your accusations and keep them to yourself! Don't think you're invited to my wedding, because you're not. Oh, and when Daddy finds out you've been stalking Tom, he's probably gonna come down there and kick your ass! Maybe then you'll get the message and leave us alone!" Click_

Tim flopped back in his chair. "That went well."

"Go home! Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Not a lot any of us can do at this point." Gibbs barked out. "DiNozzo!"

Tony looked at the boss and stood up to approach him.

"You shadow him for the rest of the weekend."

"Boss?"

"If this character believes Sarah even for a minute and thinks Tim set him up…."

"Huh, Right, got'cha." Tony paused briefly before looking Gibbs directly in the eyes. "Boss, you're not just gonna drop this, right?"

"Meant what I said, Tony. Not a lot we can do."

"Meaning you'll do what you can."

Gibbs smirked. "Go on, get outta here."

With a nod and a small smile, Tony turned on his heel and walked towards his desk. His mind was working overtime and as he picked up his bag, he turned to Tim. "Hey, Probie. Movie night! We can order pizza and relax. Hell, I'll even let you choose the movie."

Tim had already shouldered his bag and was currently standing next to his desk frowning at Tony. After a short moment, he shook his head. "Not tonight, Tony. I'm going home, take a long hot shower and go to bed."

"You sure? Aww, come on, McGee. It'll be fun." Tony's heart dropped when Tim turned him down. Truthfully, after everything Tony wanted to stay close to his friend so he could act as a 'shadow' and be there when the dam broke and Tim's anger over the events of the day got the better of him. Plus he knew the boss was counting on him to shadow Tim for the weekend and Tim's refusal would complicate that agenda.

Tim sighed heavily and closed his eyes briefly. When Tony was like this, he knew it was a losing battle. "Tony…"

"How can you turn down the opportunity to choose the movie? I'm giving you a free pass here Probilicious, because you get to decide on our viewing pleasure."

That comment dragged a small smile out of Tim and with a small shake of his head, he sighed heavily and knew he was defeated. "Sure Tony. Why not."

"Whoop! Now come on! Let's get this party started!" Tony walked over to Tim and slung his arm around his shoulders. Gibbs watched as his Senior Agent walked Tim out and smiled. Tony had the youngest agent's six and that was enough to settle the growling gut for now.


	4. Chapter 4

The contents of Tom Richardson's scant file was scattered around Gibbs. There wasn't much and the little by way of papers and photographs that they had dug up still didn't give them any leads. There was no hint of a crime and certainly no glimpse of one in the documentation he was reading. It was a heck of a way to spend a Sunday, but he couldn't seem to leave this alone. Dropping the piece of paper that contained the man's latest phone records, Gibbs sat back in his chair with a sigh as he brought his coffee mug up to his mouth for another sip, the expression Abby had used for a situation similar to this once before, coming to mind.

_This guy is cleaner than clean, whiter than white. If you put him in a line up with snow, snow is going to jail. _

The short break gave him time to think and his thoughts returned to yesterday in the squad room as he and Ziva had watched Tony successfully talk Tim into having a guy's movie night at Tony's place. No sooner had the elevator closed with both men inside, than Ziva had stood up from behind her desk, gathered up all the hard copies of everything they'd found and stuffed them into a case file. After carefully going through the stack once more, she extracted several sheets of paper, closed the file and picked up both before rounding her desk and heading out with a parting shot at the boss.

"Enjoy the rest of the weekend, Gibbs."

Gibbs had known that look. She was up to something and though he didn't blame her because he wasn't happy letting this go yet either, he wasn't about to let her go lone wolf, especially since she obviously wasn't going to let him know about it willingly.

"Hey!" He'd called to her, effectively stopping her in her tracks as he'd hoped it would.

"Yes, Gibbs?"

"Something you wanna tell me?"

Letting out a deep sigh, she'd looked at him straight on, with complete seriousness. "I will be fine."

"Yeah, you will, so long as you tell me what the hell you're up to."

"Nothing, Gibbs. I am up to nothing. I am simply going to have a small chat with a few 'friends' of Tom Richardson…" She admitted almost nonchalantly. "Someone else must have seen in him what we have, at least at some point in his life. We need to find that person and soon, before it is too late for Sarah."

"There a reason you plan on doing this alone?"

"I simply did not want to impose on anyone else's free weekend to do this." She defended her choice. "That is all, Gibbs."

"Not imposing if the other person's willing, Da'vid." Gibbs quipped and shut down his workstation. He took a minute to gather his gear and hit the speaker button on his phone. "Abbs, go home. C'mon, we'll walk you out."

_"Be right up, Gibbs."_ Abby's quiet voice had come over the phone, sharply reminding them that she was just as deeply troubled by all this as they were.

It hadn't been a full ten minutes later that the three of them had walked out to their cars together, though neither he nor Ziva let Abby know they were headed out to do some digging on the case. They didn't want her along because she needed to stay on the sideline where she was safe. Gibbs almost suggested that she go stay with the nuns but stopped himself knowing that asking her to leave her home to stay with friends would alarm her. There was no reason to give anyone doubts about their safety.

Gibbs got up from the table and made his way to his kitchen for a refill after the last mouthful. He'd been relieved to be able to rest easy because Tim was in Tony's trusted hands for the remainder of the weekend. However, he'd been sorely tested and frustrated for what had been left of yesterday as he and Ziva spent what amounted to a good four hours both traveling and knocking on doors to dig for more history on Tom Richardson. The result? Once again nothing. They hadn't found a single person who thought the guy was capable of anything bad or dangerous.

Worried that they'd kicked over too many stones and that at least one would come back to bite them in the behind and actually make things worse for Sarah or even Tim, he and Ziva had called it quits on the digging expedition and driven back to the Navy Yard. While the drive back had been quiet, it hadn't been completely silent. Ziva had informed him that she was not done with this. She still believed what she had said to Abby: that the guy they were investigating was a ticking time bomb. What's more, she was not willing to sit back and do nothing while something bad happened to Sarah McGee.

"Tread carefully, Ziva. Push too hard and you'll only alienate her. Then she'll be less likely to talk to anyone if and when he does start doing anything she needs to report."

"Agreed. We most definitely do not need her being afraid to come to us if she is in trouble, either." She had been quick to answer before they parted ways, each heading home after a very long and frustrating day.

Now here it was a good twelve hours later and Gibbs was still completely frustrated about this mess. Returning to his dining room with his freshly refilled coffee mug, he picked up his phone, intent on checking on his boys, when the device ringing as he held it startled him. Flipping it open, he was quick to answer it.

"Yeah, Gibbs."  
_  
"My office! NOW!"_

*****NCIS*****

Thirty minutes later found Gibbs bounding up the stairs towards Leon Vance's office with a clenched gut. He couldn't help thinking that all hell was about to break loose and frustration weighed heavily on him because he hadn't had the chance to check on Tony and Tim to make sure they hadn't done anything stupid like get drunk or careless. Tony's penchant for wanting Tim to loosen up was practically common knowledge, keeping the Team Leader just wary enough to check on them in times like this. The icing on the cake was when he arrived at HQ and was told that he had an irate guest waiting for him, but nothing else was said by the security guards at the entrance and they refused to tell him who it was.

When he heard about the anonymous visitor, his frustration rose with every step he took. He couldn't get there fast enough and so without bothering to knock, barged into Vance's office, having gotten there with the speed the summons had earned.

"Agent Gibbs. I believe an introduction is in order. "Meet Retired Naval Commander Arthur McGee." Vance announced unceremoniously.

"Tim's father." Gibbs stated before turning to look the man head on. "Mr. McGee." He greeted the retired commander. However, he did not extend his hand to the man who'd scorned and disrespected his youngest agent. In his eyes, that was the clincher and he currently held no respect for the Ex-commander.

"That's right. And it's Commander McGee." The retired man answered back, although startled at the less than respectful way this man was addressing him.

Barely acknowledging the man, Gibbs turned his attention back to his boss, looking him squarely on. "Why am I here, Leon?"

"The Commander would like a word with you. And in the interest of keeping the peace, I thought it would better serve both of you, if that conversation took place here. Considering this concerns his son, I'd say this is the perfect place to deal with this, wouldn't you?"

"Depends on what it is we're 'dealing with'." Gibbs quipped.

"I'm afraid that is what you're going to have to find out from the Commander." Vance told him. "I'll leave you two to talk. I trust I'll find my office still standing when I return in the morning?"

When he recieved no answer, Vance headed for his office door. Good-day, Gentlemen."

Once Vance was gone, Gibbs finally spoke. "Okay. I'm listening." He huffed out as he sat at the far end of the table and glared at the man, daring him to say just one thing out of line about the young man they had in common.

*****NCIS*****

Ziva picked up the phone, her heart up in her throat. This sort of thing did not usually bother her. She made phone calls all day long on the job. However, this particular call…well this one was different. As the call was answered on the other end, she drew in a breath and slowly let it back out.

_"Hello?"_

"Hello, Sarah?"

"_Who is this?"  
_  
"You probably do not remember me, but my name is Ziva Da'vid."

_"You work with my brother."  
_  
"That is correct. However, your brother and I are more than just co-workers."

_"You're dating him now? First it was that Abby woman and now you? Can't my brother find someone he doesn't work with?"  
_  
"No, I did not mean to imply that your brother and I are dating. We are not. What I was attempting to tell you is that we are good friends as well as co-workers."

"_Oh."_

"Are you available for lunch? I would love to take you to this nice little café I know of. It would be my treat."

_"Ziva, I'm sorry, I can't. I'm not in D.C. I'm at my parents' house in New York."_ Sarah informed her. _"I do appreciate the offer, though. Besides, I've got too much to do before the wedding to stop for a long lunch."  
_  
"Alright. Can you spare a few moments so that we can talk now?"

_"Sure. Okay. What is it you wanna talk about?"  
_  
"I wish to talk to you about Little Red Riding Hood."

*****NCIS*****

Glancing at the clock by his head, Tony squinted against the morning light pouring in through his bedroom window. _Good grief! It was almost 1 in the afternoon! How the hell had he slept the morning away? What the hell happened last night?_

_Wait a minute! Beer! That's right, two pizza's and two six packs of beer, an endless stream of Magnum P.I. episodes and a whole lotta shootin' the breeze about unimportant stuff – that's what happened last night! Wait. Who the hell had he been shootin' the breeze with? _

With a surprisingly clear head and an even more shocking pain free head, Tony sat up completely and wiped the sleep from his eyes, giving himself a minute to think. At that point, his nose finally noticed the wonderful aroma of freshly brewed coffee and a freshly made breakfast, and his feet somehow found the floor and before he knew it, he was headed toward his kitchen.

Finding Tim McGee in his kitchen, his arms buried in a sink full of dishwater as he cleaned the mess he'd made from preparing a brunch for the two of them, brought Tony to a standstill. _Well, that answers that. Why couldn't Tony remember that before now? And why… _

"Oh, hey, you're up. Brunch is ready and so is the coffee. Food's in the oven keeping warm." Tim said by way of a greeting.

"What the hell happened last night, Probie?" Tony demanded as he looked around his spotlessly clean apartment. He knew damn well the place hadn't been anywhere near that clean the night before.

"Nothing out of the ordinary happened, Tony. We had the same pizza and movie night you told Gibbs we were gonna have."

"Nah. No. That's not all that happened. It can't be because my brain's gone mushy and that never happens unless…"

"Tony!" Tim snapped out sharply to get the older man's attention.

"What?" Tony whined in return.

"Nothing. Happened." Now Tim's tone had taken on that directing edge, as if he were leading them away from trouble with just two little words that sounded remarkably like a cover up. "Now, why don't you go jump in the shower and by the time you're done, your stomach will be more than ready for this brunch and coffee."

Tony frowned at the change in Tim's tone, as if he'd just switched gears in the middle of a conversation. _What the hell was going on here?_ Too befuddled with the remnants of sleep hanging over his brain, Tony gave in. "Okay, then." Turning around, he took himself to the shower after snagging a clean change of clothes from his bedroom.

Tim shook his head. While he hated lying to anyone, he wasn't above covering up small indiscretions such as Tony getting uproariously drunk last night, especially if the discovery of such would only land them in hot water for it. There were more important things to focus on, and besides no one got hurt or into trouble. It was best that the evening be allowed to quickly become just a memory and just something only he and Tony knew anything about. Hearing the shower running, Tim made a beeline for Tony's bedroom, quickly changing the sheets since he'd hunted down and located the linen closet in the hallway earlier while Tony had still been sleeping. Tidying up the rest of the room, he assaulted the room with fabric refresher for the curtains, carpet and bedspread since he'd completely made the bed up first. Heading back to the kitchen, he was finally able to sit and enjoy his cup of coffee for longer than a few minutes.

*****NCIS***  
**

"You're hiding him."

After a solid five minutes of a tense yet silent stare down, the accusation hit Gibbs the wrong way, but still he remained set in stone, sitting absolutely still in the face of the other man's obvious fury.

"Now why would a former Marine such as yourself allow such cowardice, I wonder." The retired man asked.

"That what you think?"

"You really wanna know what I think, Agent Gibbs?"

"No, Commander. What I wanna know is what you want from me. What the hell are we doin' here? What - you don't have better things to do with your time than come down here and try to harass your son? And since you couldn't find him, you decided I had to jump to your bidding in his place?"

"Thought you Marines were a respectful lot, even if you are jarheads?"

"You want my respect, you're gonna have to earn it. And disregarding your son like he's nothing to you is **not** the way to do that." Gibbs returned in a low tone that carried a full supply of warning in it.

"I'm not here to discuss my relationship with my son, Agent Gibbs."

"Didn't think you were. Still waitin' to hear why you **are** here. Appreciate it if you'd stop wastin' my time and get to the point."

I want all investigations into my future son-in-law's history stopped. No more staged fender-benders, no more talking to everyone who's ever known him. Nothing."

"Why?" Gibbs bit back.

"Excuse me?"

"What are you afraid we'll find that you were too stubborn to look for?"

"What are you trying to find that isn't there?" The former Commander replied snappishly.

"Anything that will prove he's a danger to your daughter; before he hurts her."

"Ah, yes. That's right. This is all supposedly in the name of protecting my daughter." The other man reasoned out with enough sarcasm that it grated on Gibbs' nerves. "Tell me, Agent Gibbs. How did this become your problem?"

"Your son came to me for help. He asked me to help uncover the wolf underneath before his sister got hurt or worse."

"Oh, that's right. Timothy's big idea that Tom is dangerous. I'm curious to know why you didn't just ignore his blubbering like I always do."

"Because unlike you, I know good instincts when I see them and Tim's got great instincts. His gut is telling him this guy's bad news and I believe him."

"And just how long have you been at this job, Agent Gibbs? Long enough to know a crap shoot when you see one, I'm sure."

"Sure. But I also know a damn good agent who's still getting better at the job every day and whose instincts are nothing to laugh at."

"Funny, it was your instincts that have almost become legendary from what I hear."

"Your point?"

"No point. Just an observation. Agent Gibbs, I want to talk to my son. Now. Face to face and apparently you can make that happen."

"That what you were told?"

"Not specifically."

"But you've been told that I know where he is."

"That's right."

"Well, you're wrong about one thing."

"Okay, I'll bite. What am I wrong about?"

"You **don't** need to see your son. Not today, anyway. He's not just your son. He's my agent and in that capacity, he needs to be allowed to recuperate after a tough week. All my agents do. I won't let you interfere with that."

"Have you ever been a parent, Agent Gibbs?"

Gibbs swallowed hard. This bastard should not have the right to scope out his most inner pain like this. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction of letting his emotions out – somehow, he'd keep them locked up and still get his point across. "Yes, Commander, I have. But, unlike you, I treasured my child, no matter what her choices were."

"Well, sure you did. We all cherish our daughters, Agent Gibbs. And, I'm truly sorry for your loss. But sons are different. You know what I mean? We expect more from them. Didn't your father treat you differently than he did your sister?"

"We're done here. There's something you need to see."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"You wanna doubt your son's instincts, fine, but like I said, he's my agent, too and you need to see what my agent sees in this future son-in-law of yours first."

"Fair enough, I guess."

"Now, you're interested in fair." Gibbs replied sarcastically as he led the way out of the Director's Office. Without looking back, he made his way down to the squad room and set the tape to play.

******NCIS******

Ziva snapped her phone shut in disappointment and frustration. Gibbs had been right. She'd tried to reach out to Sarah and warn her to be careful of this man she intended on marrying. She'd repeatedly told her she was only concerned with Sarah's safety and the younger woman had indeed rebelled even further when more people got involved. With a heavy sigh, she dialed the phone and waited to hear about how Tim and Tony had gotten on this weekend. She only hoped it was without problems.

*****NCIS******

Tim returned to the living room and was happily in the midst of a Star Trek Next Generation Movie Marathon by the time Tony came out of the shower. He had decided to leave Tony's kitchen open for the older man to be able eat in peace and have at least some semblance of normality to what was left of his free weekend.

As the steamy massage of the hot shower had worked its way through all the kinks and locked muscles on his body,Tony had found his mind relaxing and actually appreciating Tim's efforts to move things back into all things normal or as normal as they could possibly be, given the circumstances. Tony also knew Tim well enough to realize that all of this apartment cleaning and cooking was the younger man's way of saying 'thanks' for the attempt to nail his future brother-in-law before his sister got hurt.

He just hoped that Sarah and Tim would both be safe and the guy they were looking into would prove them wrong.


	5. Chapter 5

Tim paced restlessly, his heart down in his shoes as he watched the clock relentlessly, silently demanding that the hands move faster. His sister was at this very moment, committing herself; her future, to a menace who'd mastered the art of coming across as harmless and charming. Though he'd done his damnedest to dig up any information - dirt, rumors, anything - on Tom that would at least open Sarah's eyes, if not stop her from doing this, he had the limited time available, the only information he'd been able to uncover that had been of any help at all had been the travel arrangements they'd made for a honeymoon to Hawaii, his parents' wedding gift to the "happy couple".

Two hours later, still pacing, He paused every now and then to look for her. Stationed where he couldn't help but see them as they boarded their plane, it was the only way he would be able to see for himself that his sister was in fact, alright. With the upcoming week and the hours away she would be from anyone who could help her, Tim was now even more worried about his sister's safety than he had already been. He'd talked to Gibbs about his options just last night as his gut had kept him awake, actually driving him back to the older man's house for at least some semblance of reassurance.

_***Flashback***_

"_Awfully late, Tim." Gibbs quietly admonished him as the younger man sat down on the middle basement step._

"_I know, Boss." Tim's response was quietly respectful, his tone leaving no doubt he was still considerably upset about this mess he hadn't been able to fix for his sister._

_"You're lettin' this eat you alive when there's nothing you can do about it."_

_Tim nodded in silent agreement. He couldn't stop this from bothering him, no matter how hard he tried. He'd tried for the past two weeks to still do his job while firmly tamping down his ever growing worry about his sister's impending marriage to Tom and it had been the longest two weeks of his life. But every time he closed his eyes, even to blink, images of his sister's battered and beaten body loomed vividly behind his eyelids._

"_Stop beating yourself up over something you can't control. You did all that you could. We can't force someone to accept our help, McGee. You know that."_

_"How do I just turn it off?" The young man asked in all seriousness._

"_Refocus on something you can control." Gibbs answered without hesitation; the voice of experience._

_Tim looked at him blankly, obviously not having any idea where to start with that._

"_I don't like it any more than you do, McGee."_

"_I have to at least make sure she's alright, Boss." Tim insisted firmly as he got to his feet and walked down the rest of the stairs to the basement floor, suddenly too restless to sit still any longer._

"_You think a slime ball like that's gonna do anything so soon after the wedding, while he knows we're all watching every move he makes?" The Team Leader asked as he deliberately stepped into his agent's path, urging the young man to stop long enough to think things through further._

"_We've seen enough victims to know what signs to look for." Tim reminded him quietly, his eyes begging the boss to understand the concern that sat in his gut like a ball of lead weight. "Besides, I've had the extra training with going to that group, remember? But we're not even there! For seven days, he'll be able to do anything he wants to her with no one to stop him!"_

"_Only way you're gonna be able to know that she's alright now is to stake out that airport – check her over as she's leaving." Gibbs advised him as he locked eyes on him. "Not sure what that's gonna do for ya, though since it's not like she's gonna willingly admit anything. As for the rest of the time they're gone, there is nothing we can do."_

"_Boss, I have to see her for myself. It's been three weeks! He could have done anything to her by now." _

"_He's not that stupid. He knows you're watchin' him. Probably suspects we are too."_

_Tim huffed out a breath of frustration._

"_It's a long drive. Take Ziva with you." Gibbs advised quietly. _

_Tim knew exactly why the Israeli team member would be a smart choice to take along with him and it wasn't just because she'd get them there a hell of a lot quicker_

"_Okay." Tim nodded in agreement because he knew that Ziva would be more than willing to help. She'd done everything she could to help him get Sarah to see the light and had made it quite well known that she would do whatever it took to keep Tim's sister safe._

_"Gonna need to be sharp. Go on, crash on my couch."_

"_Thank you, Boss, but I can't impose o…"_

_**Thwack**_

_"Yes, Boss." Tim smiled softly as he accepted the physical reminder that he was one of Gibbs' and the boss wasn't letting him do anything unwise like driving when he was too tired to be behind the wheel. Heading up the stairs, he tread slowly as exhaustion weighed him down, but still he remembered to stop and turn around, having one more thing on his mind._

"_Boss, I…"_

"_McGee. You do what you have to for family." Gibbs saved him the trouble._

_Tim realized that the boss knew that Tim was now tripping over himself, looking for what he felt was an adequate way to thank him; thanks Gibbs obviously didn't want, because he was just doing for Tim what he should have been doing all along; being there for him when he needed a father figure to help him through a truly difficult time.__  
_  
_***End Flashback***_

Drawn back from the memory of that conversation to the here and now by Ziva deliberately bumping his arm, Tim smiled thinly at her. "Sorry."

"Do not apologize. But you will miss seeing her if you do not pay attention. Look, here they are now." Ziva advised quietly from her vantage point beside him as they looked over at the oncoming couple.

"I knew it." Tim hissed. "She's not even close to happy. I've never seen her looking so miserable before."

"I agree. She is definitely not happy. She is quite nervous, however. It appears she is also very jumpy, yes? "

"Yeah. Look at how she won't look at him. That's another sign!"

"You are right. She is not looking anywhere but down at her feet. Look at the steel in his grip on her elbow." Ziva advised sadly.

"Am I really supposed to just stand her and let her go with him?" Tim asked painfully.

"Tim. Listen to me. It is as Gibbs told you and also what you have learned from that group I took you to so that you could understand this better and recognize the signs more readily. Unless she asks for help, there is nothing we can do for her." Ziva reminded him sympathetically. "You must remember that no matter what you may think is going on between them - you cannot force her to accept the help."

"Damn it, I hate this!" Tim muttered as he turned his eyes back to his now retreating sister's form. Raising the binoculars he'd brought along for this reason, he zoomed in on her as closely as he could. "She's over-dressed for this weather, Ziva." He worried. "We both know what that means."

"It _is _possible that she is dressed to cover whatever bruises she has been dealt, McGee. However, it changes nothing. Until she allows us to help, there is nothing we can do."

Lowering the binoculars, Tim lowered himself down into the chair beside him in defeat. "What if she won't?"

"I am certain she will talk to me when she has more time to think about things."

Tim looked at her with genuine doubt and worry written all over his face. "And in the meantime?"

"Come, McGee. We have seen that she is physically okay. There is little we can do now. We must wait for them to return at the end of the week."

"I can't believe I have to just sit back and watch my sister become a statistic!"

"Sometimes, McGee, it is just as hard to be the family members not allowed to help as it is to be the victim, too afraid to ask for that help." His friend and teammate gently reminded him.

With rising anger at the helplessness he was feeling, Tim stalked past her to the lobby of the airport, on through to the doors that led outside to the parking lot. Forcing himself to calm down, he plunked himself down on the nearest bench while he waited for Ziva to catch up to him. He knew she'd deliberately slowed her pace to give him the space to breathe through this wave of white hot anger that threatened to overwhelm him.

"If I know Gibbs at all, your sister is not without eyes watching over her on this trip." Ziva volunteered. "You would know this too, if you would allow yourself to calm down enough to think clearly, McGee."

Breathing out heavily, Tim forced himself to calm down. She was right. _But why wouldn't Gibbs have said as much when they talked just last night? Maybe it was the boss's way of waiting for Tim to pull himself together and get with the program. The boss was right about one thing, beating himself up about any of this wasn't doing anyone any good_. Nodding in agreement with Ziva, he stood, finally ready to let them go back to their daily lives, since there was nothing else any of them could do until the married couple returned at the end of the week.

"Very well. I believe it is time for lunch. I am starving."

"Yeah? Okay. I know just the place. My treat." Tim volunteered with a genuine although small smile finally sliding onto his handsome face.

"I am looking forward to it." Ziva offered in return, her own infectious smile already in place.

*****NCIS*****

By the end of the week, Tim was running on fumes, his ability to sleep long gone and his concentration and appetite almost just as hard to find. No matter how hard he'd tried to stick with the mental game plan of not letting this take over his life, it seemed the fates were laughing at him, since he'd been tortured by the thoughts and images of worst case scenarios where Sarah was concerned, every single day and every night when he tried to sleep. Gibbs had pulled him aside at one point, herding him into the 'office' long enough to berate him for continuing to let this get to him. That conversation still rang clearly in his head on vivid replay.

_***Flashback***_

_"Pull your head out and get it back in the game! __You won't be any use to your sister like this when she does need you, McGee."_

_"Boss, I can't help it if I can't sleep." Tim tried to defend himself._

_"Then you get your ass down to Ducky and get him to help you with that! Are we clear?"_

_Tim's head almost hit his chest. He knew he'd blown it by letting this situation with his sister almost eat him alive, despite the boss's advice to the contrary. But he couldn't help his lack of appetite or his insomnia, any more than he could stop the images that were plaguing him with the situation he'd wind up finding her in before he was allowed to get her out. Picking his head back up, he glanced at the older man and answered him meekly, as his exhaustion and overwhelming worry lowered his voice to an almost whisper. "Yes, Boss."_

_"Talk to me." Gibbs' tone softened just enough to show that underneath his sharp tongue, he really did care even while Tim was screwing up._

_Tim shook his head. "There's nothing to say, Boss. I haven't been able to sleep and I've lost my appetite."_

_"What've you been doin' all night instead of sleepin'?"_

_"Watching the news. Searching …" Tim admitted quietly as he left the rest unsaid._

_"Tim." Gibbs sighed. "Look, I know you're worried about Sarah. What'd I tell you about this?_

_"I know, Boss, bu…"_

_"You __**cannot**__ let this get to you like this! It won't do you or your sister any good."_

_Tim nodded silently to show that he heard what he was being told even as his heart argued the point. How could he expect the boss to understand how it felt to know in your gut that the worst had happened and you were going to see your sister's bruised and broken body on the news as another statistic of 'battered wife syndrome' or whatever they called it these days?_

_Still, he knew he should be able to handle this. He'd handled stressful situations countless times before and still kept his head in the game. What was so different now? How could he change what he didn't understand?_

_"Go on, go talk to Ducky."_

_Tim nodded. It was the least he could do since he'd screwed up enough as it was. "Thanks, Boss."_

_"__**Don't **__let it get this bad again." Gibbs let it go at that as he flipped the switch for the elevator and sent it back to their squad room.__  
_  
_***End Flashback***_

Now here it was late Friday night and the squad room was dark and eerily quiet. Tony and Ziva had gone home hours ago, both of them taking the time before leaving to ask several times if Tim wanted to go home with them to get his mind off things for the night. Knowing his sister was due back in town at two the next day, Tim found himself anxious and too keyed up to settle down at anything other than painstakingly searching the web for news reports. He'd repeatedly but politely refused his teammates' offers and stuck to his computer like glue. Even Abby had been unsuccessful in prying him loose from it.

With Gibbs talking to Ducky as the worried agents departed for the night, it seemed unavoidable that Tim would be alone once they'd gone. With his mission to spend the weekend with Breena, Jimmy had, for once, failed to stop long enough to offer any helpful suggestions or even sympathy for the youngest agent to whom he felt almost close. Not bothered by the others' needs to go on with their lives, Tim remained fixated on the search for what he prayed he wouldn't find, but somehow couldn't stop looking for.

With no focus on time, Tim was shocked when a hand clamped down on his shoulder and he was pulled from his inner world back to the here and now. Looking up, he found himself face to face with not only Gibbs, but Ducky, as well, both of them looking a tad bit concerned. Feeling slightly embarrassed, he couldn't stop the stammer that fell from his lips, "Oh, …Hey….B..Boss, Ducky."

"Pack up, McGee."

"Boss?"

"Did I stutter?"

"Uhm, up, Boss."

"Timothy, you must allow yourself to stop worrying about your sister. At the very least, long enough to sleep! You need to rest!" Ducky's admonishment sounded loud in Tim's head and he nearly cringed as his head actually hurt from the overload and the volume.

Frowning at Tim's involuntary response, Ducky nodded at Gibbs as the Team Leader placed a hot coffee on his youngest agent's desk. "Drink up. You need the boost."

"Thanks." Tim murmured as he gratefully picked up the coffee and drank it down, as if he were dying of thirst. Too tired to think straight, it didn't even cross his mind that the boss had just contradicted the M.E.'s declaration that Tim needed sleep, by handing him this dose of caffeine or even consider there was an ulterior motive behind it. Tossing the now empty cup into his trashcan, he rose from his chair and slung his backpack haphazardly over his shoulder while he stepped out from his desk.

Without anything further being spoken, the two older men flanked Tim, effectively escorting him safely to the parking garage, as if they expected him to fall out from the exhaustion quite obviously wearing him down. Being too tired to concentrate on any particular thought for very long, Tim remained silent even as they drew up to a stop beside, not his car, but that of the boss.

"C'mon, I'll drive you home." Gibbs suggestion turned quiet order did little to raise any objections from Tim as the young man, almost on automatic pilot, did as he was obviously expected to do: got into the passenger seat of the boss's car and buckled up.

Without a word, his head immediately found the headrest and his eyes slid shut, the world around him no longer anything he could focus on as sleep found him and took him away, never even noticing the small smile of satisfaction residing on the face of his boss now driving him home.


	6. Chapter 6

Saturday morning dawned bright and clear, adding to the pain already residing in Tim's head as he came awake. When it finally hit him where he'd spent the night; not in his own bed or even on his own couch, but in his boss's house, on his boss's couch, the shock had him sitting upright in record time. _What the hell happened last night that brought him here?_

"Hey." Gibbs greeted him calmly as he sat down on the coffee table.

Opening his eyes and lifting his head up, Tim glanced at the older man nervously. "Hey, Boss."

"You ready for this?" The boss asked as he held up a mug of piping hot coffee.

"Thanks." Tim accepted the mug and drank thankfully as the older man headed back towards his kitchen.

"Breakfast in five."

Tim sighed calmly as he drank more of his coffee and let the warmth soothe not only his throat but his nerves as well. Glancing at his watch, he was startled to see that it was nearly 11 in the morning. _How in the hell had he managed to sleep so late? And since when did Gibbs sanction sleeping so much of the day away? Crap! Sarah's plane was due in 2 hours! _

Hurrying through the time he needed in the bathroom, Tim was quick to stop at the kitchen doorway. "Boss, thank you for making sure I got some sleep last night, but I really need to go! I have to see that she's okay when she gets off that plane!"

"Relax, McGee. Sit down, eat. Check your messages." Gibbs calmly instructed him without looking up from the newspaper he now sat reading.

Letting out a sigh, Tim did as the older man instructed, first checking his phone messages. When he noticed one from his sister, he sat up straighter and hit the button to listen to it; not even thinking twice about having hit the speaker button on his phone.

"_Don't bother__ stalking me at the airport to check up on me like you did when we were leaving on Sunday, Tim. We took an earlier flight."_

Tim nearly dropped the phone, the sorrow mixed in with the unmistakable anger in his sister's tone so obvious; it immediately twisted his heart in knots. Getting up from the table, he left the room, too upset to even think about eating now. _God only knows what that bastard's done to her!_

Picking up his own cell phone, Gibbs made a call. "Ziva. Call Sarah McGee. Yeah, she's back already. Didn't sound good. No, I've got him but we're gonna need some answers quick. Yeah." Closing his phone, he ended the call and stood to retrieve his agent who still needed to eat a decent meal whether he felt like it or not.

*****NCIS*****

Ziva placed the call to Sarah McGee as soon as Gibbs ended his call to her. Her heart thumped almost erratically as she waited, fearing the worse, for Sarah to pick up the phone.

_"Hello?"_

"Sarah. This is Ziva Da'vid. I heard that you have returned early and I wanted to make sure that you are alright."

_"I'm fine. I told Tim that already. What is it with you people? Do you always look for trouble where there isn't any?"_

"No. Sarah. We do not. However, I would like to invite you to lunch – perhaps tomorrow?"

_"You're not gonna leave me in peace until you see for yourself that I'm okay, are you? Fine! I guess that'll be alright since we'll be back in D.C. by then._

"Good. Say one o'clock at the little café near your college campus?"

_"That'll be fine. Thanks, Ziva. Although, I have to tell you, I'm not real happy that you guys are buggin' me like this."_

"Sarah, we are all concerned for your well-being."

_"__That's just it, Ziva. You all are acting like Tom's a monster! He's not a monster, for cryin' out loud! He's my husband!"_

"You sound upset. Are you certain that you are alright?"

"_I'm fine. Honest. I'll see you tomorrow at one_." Sarah answered almost angrily as she hung up.

With a frown on her face and a worry in her heart, Ziva called Gibbs back and relayed the information to him. She knew he would let Tim know so that the young man could be there to see for himself that his little sister was, in fact, all right. She also gave her opinion on the situation, based on what she could pick up from the younger woman's tone and the less than steady way in which she'd voiced what she had to say. All in all, Ziva was not overly optimistic that things were indeed alright with Tim's little sister.

*****NCIS***  
**

Twelve-thirty Sunday afternoon found Ziva sitting alone in the booth at the diner, waiting for Sarah to arrive. Watching as not only the young woman, but her new husband as well, walked into the eating establishment and quickly found her, the Israeli woman now worried that with Tim here, things would quickly get ugly between the two men. Before she had time to think about it any further, Sarah was greeting her almost cordially, albeit with a touch of anger still audible in her tone.

"Ziva. I don't think you've met my husband Tom, yet. Tom, this is Ziva Da'vid. She works with Tim."

"Ah, another NCIS Agent, I take it?" Tom asked almost casually, although his eyes failed to hide the trace of worry mixed with anger that filtered through them before he was able to blink it away to replace it with a cold indifference.

"It is true. I am an NCIS agent, just like Sarah's brother. It is nice to finally meet you. I must say, I was quite surprised to hear that you two were getting married so quickly. And without your brother present, Sarah."

"Tim's fault. Not mine." Sarah retorted hotly though her voice broke and she quickly blinked as if chasing tears away.

"As you can see, she's fine." Tom interrupted. "Safe and sound and delivered for your inspection." His smart-assed tone was not lost on Ziva and it only served to infuriate her towards him further.

Still she kept things civil for all concerned, even as she deliberately changed the subject. "Are you hungry, Sarah? Shall we order?"

"You know what to order for me, Sarah." Tom spoke in what came across as an order, as he stood from the bench seat. "I'll be back."

As soon as Tom had walked out of hearing distance – Sarah raised her eyes to meet Ziva's. "Tell Tim to drop this crazy idea that Tom is dangerous! He's not!"

"Sarah, your brother is concerned about you. He loves you and does not want to see you get hurt."

"Does it look like I'm hurt?"

"Do you wish to hear the truth?" Ziva dared her.

"Yeah." Sarah breathed out shakily, as if suddenly too tired to fight about it anymore.

"Alright. Let me tell you what I have seen…."

*****NCIS*****

Watching from across the room as his new brother-in-law left the booth to head toward the men's room, Tim sat frozen in place as he turned his eyes back to his sister and the almost haunted look in her eyes, as if already in over her head and unable to see a way out. His heart bled for her and all anger at her rebellious attitude slipped away, quickly replaced by worry and a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Before he could move to get up, he felt her eyes on him and he raised his own to meet them.

When his little sister's face broke into just the tiniest of smiles at the sight of him, his heart cried. She looked so desperate for a way out but it was obvious she didn't know how to ask for help. Quickly getting to his feet, he found himself sliding in beside her and wrapping her in his arms before he even realized he'd moved.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly although he already knew the answer by the way he could feel her trembling as he held her protectively.

"I'm okay." Sarah answered so quietly he almost didn't hear her.

"Why wouldn't she be okay?" Tom's almost too calm voice came from behind Tim unexpectedly.

Smiling encouragingly at his sister, Tim gently pulled back from her as he turned to face his new brother-in-law and stood up, effectively placing himself between the newly married couple. "I don't know, Tom. Why don't you tell me?"

"No reason for her not to be. Sarah's fine. Despite you and your team's interference, no harm has come to her and frankly I'm tired of hearing all these accusations you're throwing around just because you think I'd hurt her."

"That why you couldn't wait to step out on her?" Tim asked him just quietly enough for the angry man to hear. "I'm gonna take a shot in the dark here and guess that she has no idea you did that."

"Why don't you join us for lunch? I'm sure Sarah would love to spend some time with you." Tom's tone changed to almost overly friendly as it rose in volume. It was obvious he intended on playing this out nicely for Sarah's sake.

Looking over at his sister, Tim found her staring at him with eyes that begged him to leave things alone. Unwilling to just walk away from her after seeing that glimpse of how truly upset she was, Tim sat down next to Ziva, his eyes not leaving his sister's face.

"Excellent. Now, shall we order?" Tom spoke out, his tone full of condescension and disdain.

*****NCIS*****

Ten minutes later, with the orders placed and peace seeming to have been reached among them all, the ladies excused themselves to the ladies room, leaving the men alone to hopefully talk without coming to blows. Since Ziva had pushed the issue of taking the break, Sarah had found no reason to fight it; actually relieved for the escape.

"Stay out of my business, Tim" Tom threatened quietly; his tone implying repercussions were imminent if the agent didn't take the man's warning to heart.

Tim stared back at him without saying a word. He needed the man to keep talking and maybe expose enough of himself that Tim could pounce on it and hang on long enough to use it against the man and protect his sister.

"You think I don't know what you and that band of second rate federal agents of yours have been up to? You think I don't know you staged the fender bender or that you tried to convince your father that I was a bad seed and shouldn't marry your sister?" Tom asked almost casually as if the situation didn't bother him.

"Just trying to protect my sister. I warned you not to hurt her." Tim pushed. "Deliberately being unfaithful to her doesn't exactly endear you to my good side, Tom."

"You think I care about being on your good side?" Tom sneered. "I suggest you back away from what's none of your business and remember your place because it sure as hell isn't sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

Tim's anger soared as his fists clenched at his sides. Before he could say anything, Tom's expression changed once more as his brother-in-law pasted on a smile meant to convince Tim that everything was indeed all right between him and his sister. "Look Tim. Sarah knows all about my momentary weakness and she's forgiven me. Things are great between us, I promise you, and I would never hurt her. I love her."

"And I'm just supposed to take your word for it?"

"No. Of course not. How can I expect you to believe me if you don't ask Sarah yourself?"

"I'm not as stupid as you give me credit for." Tim stated calmly.

"Now, why would I think you're stupid?" Tom asked with faux patience.. "Annoying, overbearing, sneaky and a little bit big-headed, maybe, but definitely not stupid."

"You think I can't see she's upset and stressed?" Tim asked as he deliberately ignored the other man's ridiculous question and remarks meant to goad him into a reaction. "Think I didn't hear it in her voice when she left me that message about getting back sooner? Did you really think changing your travel plans so we couldn't see for ourselves how she was doing after being alone with you for a week would keep us from checking on her?"

"Tim. Look. You need to relax, man. She was tired from the trip. Flying all the way in from Hawaii back to the east coast of the mainland takes a lot out of you as your body adjusts to the time change." Tom replied almost condescendingly. "She's still tired, trying to catch up. She just needs a nice long nap. I really think that all of these phone calls checking up on her – are just keeping her a nervous wreck." Tom leaned towards Tim with an air of danger. "I think they need to stop, don't you?"

Hearing the threat in his tone and immediately sensing that Sarah would bear the brunt of any further action on his part, Tim refrained from letting his knee-jerk response escape his control.

As if taking Tim's silence for a sign that Tim still wasn't convinced enough, Tom had more to say. Having to rush back here just to meet your demands that you be able to see for yourself that she's fine, has added to the stress she was already under so of course, she seems out of sorts to you. She's still tired, trying to catch up. She just needs to catch up on her sleep. I promise she'll be fine once everyone leaves her alone."

Again the dark tone stoked Tim's anger, but he refused to rise to the bait. Instead, he silently stood from the booth as he noticed his sister returning with Ziva right behind her. Glaring as darkly as he could at his new brother-in-law, he finally spoke, giving him one more warning.

"You just remember what I said when we first met. You hurt her and you'll answer to me. And don't think I don't realize that you're planning on taking any anger you have over this lunch, out on my sister the minute Ziva and I leave or the minute you and Sarah get home. Before you lay a hand on her, I'd think real hard about what I said."

"Everything alright?" Sarah asked tremulously as she reached her brother's side.

Tim instantly wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in for an embrace. Whispering in her ear, he begged her. "You need me, for anything, you call me."

Sarah nodded silently as her eyes were melded in place by the cold stare of her husband.

"Promise me, Sarah." Tim begged as he voice nearly broke in her ear.

She nodded her head silently, her eyes never straying from those of her spouse.

Pulling away, Tim kissed her on the cheek as he whispered to her. "If I stay, it's going to get ugly and you don't need that."

When Sarah didn't answer him, he sighed and turned to Ziva. "We need to go."

Ziva nodded. "Alright. Sarah. It was very nice to see you again. Please, do not hesitate to call me if you would like to have lunch again sometime."

"Thank you." Sarah replied quietly as she slid into the booth seat and scooted almost over into Tom's lap, as if silently begging his forgiveness for something.

Watching Tom's hand stroke Sarah's back almost reassuringly while the man's almost cold stare was turned on Ziva sent a shiver of apprehension down Tim's spine but he still felt the desperate need to get away from him as soon as he possibly could before he said or did something that would make things any worse for his sister.

Ziva spoke up before she allowed them to move away from the table. "You will call me if you need anything, Sarah, yes?"

Sarah nodded even while her eyes remained glued to her water glass on the table in front of her.

"You do not have a problem with that, do you Tom?" Ziva dared the man through his stare that was having no ill-effect on the Israeli woman.

"'Course not." Tom answered calmly as his eyes flashed almost dangerously.

"Good. Very well. Good day then. And thank you for attempting to have lunch with me. I am sorry that it did not work out completely."

Sarah nodded in silent agreement as she remained tucked up tightly against Tom's body, a physical picture of complete contradictions, misery and determination.

*****NCIS*****

Walking back to Ziva's car from the café, Tim remained silently watchful. He could feel that Ziva was trying to work her way up to telling him something. His guess was she'd seen or heard something he hadn't since she'd spent the alone time with Sarah that he hadn't been able to. Between his reluctance to hear bad news and his unwillingness to rush the words from Ziva before she was willing to speak them, he found himself remaining silent, hoping he was wrong all the way around.

As Ziva unlocked the car doors and they settled into their seats, she looked over at him with a guarded expression. "I am afraid we were right to worry."

"I knew it! Tell me!" Tim was quick to assert his need to know exactly what was going on with his sister.

"While I was speaking to her as we sat in the booth and she was nervously tugging on her shirt sleeves. I noticed the bruises. I saw them again while she was washing her hands in the ladies room."

"Where?"

"On her arms. "

"Did you take pictures? For evidence?"

"No, McGee. I was not able to do that. Sarah would not have stood still for that. She is far too afraid of Tom to allow anyone, even us, document what he has done to her, with him here with her."

"She tell you that?" He demanded, too upset at what appeared to be a lost opportunity to rescue his sister from this fate, to rationalize that Ziva was right.

"Not with the exact words. However, it is in her body language and in her eyes."

"Yeah. I saw it there too. Okay, so now what?" He asked impatiently.

"Nothing has changed. We still must wait."

"Damn it, Ziva!" Tim banged his fist down on her dash, his anger fairly vibrating off of him.

"I understand your frustration, McGee. However, it is as I have said. We must wait until she reaches out for the help she needs." Ziva attempted to sympathize with him.

Tim closed his eyes in frustration as angry tears tried to escape. He was stuck in the middle of his worst nightmare and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.

* * *

_A/N: **Warning** - next chapter will be hard to read - as we see and hear the culmination of what Sarah has been enduring._

_ - just how will it end? _

_Will the team get to her before it's too late?_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Warnings have been added and the rating has been changed due to the contents of this chapter  
In case you missed it - WARNING: Domestic Abuse Situation.**_

_****I do apologise for the delay in adding the warning.  
Since this is the only chapter with the actual abuse depiction, I did not want it to color the rest of the story.  
I apologise if I've offended anyone  
No disrespect or belittlement was intended against anyone who's ever had to live or has a loved one who's had to endure with this tragic situation.  
_

* * *

Monday morning found Tim still in a foul mood but at least attempting to shelve it in order to focus on work. After spending the remainder of yesterday locked in an ugly argument with his father over what Ziva had discovered about his sister's situation, Tim was more than ready to punch a wall or two. Having no such resources at his disposal, he'd chosen to go for a run instead, letting his feet pound the pavement and take the punishment of his anger driven strides.

When he'd gotten up out of bed this morning, it had been after somehow finding at least a couple of hours sleep, for which he was most grateful. He wanted no repeat of last week and in fact, he needed the distraction of work, not sleeplessness, to hold him back from finding Tom and beating him to a pulp. He hoped that he'd be able to control himself if and when he crossed paths with the sorry piece of work his sister had married. And he prayed that those news reports he still stayed up late to watch every night – would not bring him his sister's fate in the cruelest twist he feared was coming.

Gibbs took one look at his youngest agent and frowned. While the young man looked like he'd gotten some rest, the tired lines around his eyes left no doubt he wasn't getting a full eight hours of sleep. Still, work waited for no one and nothing pressing was happening so he let it go for now. Withdrawing two files from the stack on his desk, he slapped them down on Tim's without a word, knowing the silence would speak for itself.

Tim nodded. He knew Gibbs could tell he wasn't as rested as he should have been on a Monday morning after the weekend off; just as well as he knew he was now being chained to his desk until he got a grip on things and pulled himself together. Opening the first file, he got busy, almost immediately tuning out the rest of the squad room around him.

*****NCIS*****

The rest of the week passed without incident, as Tim slowly managed to catch up on his missing sleep while still carefully checking news stories for the one story he prayed he wouldn't find. By the time Thursday afternoon arrived, he finally felt like he was back on his feet, even though no fresh case had taken them away from the drudgery of cold cases.

When the boss's phone rang after lunch, interrupting the peace and quiet of a team working through cold cases, all heads came up from their work; they all stood when the boss did and prepared to head out for what they sensed was a fresh case.

Two hours later found the team returning to the squad room with little to go on to help them search for their missing Petty officer. After inputting everything he had to work with, Tim located and pulled up the missing man's information on his family, financial records and phone records. While Gibbs headed out for more coffee, Tim continued to dig, hoping to find more to go on. His desk phone rang unexpectedly, causing him to almost absently snag the receiver off the cradle and bring it to his ear, even as he kept working. "Agent McGee."

Suddenly Tim froze in place for a brief moment before jerkily getting to his feet, the phone still stuck to his ear and a look of horror settling on his face.

"McGee, what is it?" Ziva asked as she watched from across the room at her own desk.

Distracted by Ziva's question, Tony's eyes immediately came up off his own work and sought out his Probie. Seeing his teammate, his friend, standing there as if something horrible was reaching out to him through the phone in his ear, brought chills to Tony's spine. Instantly, he was up and at Tim's shoulder. "Probie, talk to us man."

When Tim remained frozen, Tony reached out and hit the speaker button on his phone, gently taking the receiver from his probie's hand and setting it down on the desk as the sounds that filled the room around them nearly sucked the air out of their lungs.

_**smack**_

"_I told you not to let anyone see you until I was good and ready! Your family's always in our faces!" **smack** **smack** "You just couldn't listen! *smack* *smack*_

_**Ow! Ow!**_

"Stop whining! Think your brother's gonna rescue you because you don't know how to be a proper wife? Hell, he's so scared of what I'll do to you if he does anything to help you – he won't even _**think**__ of getting in my way now! And he damned sure won't interfere when it's your own fault! Looks like you're on your own, __**sweetheart!**_

_"I thought you loved me. Why are do you treat me like this?" **Sob** Sob**_

"_Don't act all innocent with me, Sarah! You knew you'd be punished for your behavior! I warned you!: **smack** "But you just wouldn't listen." **smack** "No, you just had to keep refusing to sleep with me! Your wifely duty, damn it!" **smack** **smack** **smack** " I warned you my patience was running out. Didn't I? DIDN'T I?"**smack** **smack** **smack** "ANSWER ME, DAMN IT! YOU KNOW THIS IS YOUR FAULT, DON'T YOU?" *smack**smack*_

Suddenly galvanized into action, Tim turned to his computer, immediately tracing the call while Ziva called the switchboard to ensure the call was being recorded and to get the tape of it brought to them as soon as the call was disconnected.

As Tim straightened up, the address of his sister's location now on the screen, he grabbed his gun, badge and id and scrambled to get out around his desk, around Tony who supported his obvious intentions wholeheartedly, standing by the phone still broadcasting the call. "Go, man! I'll man the call."

"Ziva, c'mon. Let's go." Gibbs unexpected voice sounded as he quickly walked to his desk and geared up to go with Tim. "Tony, get an ambulance over there!"

_*****NCIS****  
**_

With Ziva behind the wheel, they were at Sarah and Tom's house on the outskirts of D.C.'s suburbs in mere minutes. Both Gibbs and Tim catapulted from the car, almost before she'd put it in park. Nodding at Ziva to go around the back, Gibbs took the lead going to the front door, wanting Tim to calm down before stepping in to this volatile situation.

As the ambulance sirens wailed in the distance, coming closer, the Team Leader tried the front door handle, finding it locked, he used his shoulder to break through the door, immediately readying his weapon as he and Tim worked together to quickly clear room after room on their way to rescuing Sarah.

Rounding the corner where the back door met the stairwell going up, Ziva led the way, already inside. With every step they took, the cries and the sounds of a continued beating got louder and louder, spurring them on with mounting anger. Years of training took hold and Gibbs firmly nodded his youngest agent in the direction of the other rooms on the second floor, wanting them cleared, leaving nothing to chance as he and Ziva prepared to deal with the ongoing situation.

Tim stared Gibbs down mutinously, trying like hell to silently argue his way into the room where his sister was being beaten by her husband. While the two male agents squared off, Ziva had no such difficulties, storming the room and loudly making her presence known.

"NCIS! Step away from her, right now!"

At the muffled cry of pain, the sound of a body hitting the floor, and an ensuing scuffle, both Gibbs and Tim rushed into the room. They came face to face with Ziva holding a surprisingly silent and nearly fully dressed Tom Richardson pinned to the ground, cuffing him, and the crumpled body of Sarah McGee sprawled on the floor, where her husband had just ruthlessly shoved her off the bed.

Wasting no effort or attention on anyone but his sister, Tim was at her side in an instant, horrified at her blackened eyes and beaten, almost naked body, every square inch of it littered with darkened ugly bruises or welts. With tears in his eyes, he fought with himself for a split second, wanting desperately to scoop her up and hold her close. Instead he gently knelt down beside her, his hand ghosting over her face, the words just tumbling out of his mouth, "Sarah, you're safe now, we'll get you to the hospital. Sarah, I'm here, I love you, Sis. Oh, God, I'm so sorry. Don't you worry, I'll make sure he doesn't get away with this! You have to stay strong, now, alright? Don't you leave me! You hang on."

Next to him, Gibbs wordlessly draped a blanket over the scarily inert woman for both the shock she had to be in as well as her modesty before reaching down to find a pulse on her a breath of relief, he expressed what they needed to hear. "She's alive."

With a brief supportive clamp of his hand to his youngest agent's shoulder, the Team Leader left Tim to look after his sister and turned to haul the still silent sorry excuse for a man up off the floor, nodding at Ziva to process the crime scene. Pulling out her phone, Ziva hit a button to call Tony, only to end the call as the man himself silently appeared alongside the paramedics wheeling a gurney into the room.

When Tim reluctantly moved out of the way so the paramedics could get to Sarah, Tony got a glimpse of her swollen and bruised face. "Oh my God!" The Senior Field Agent and former cop, who'd seen much in his law enforcement career, breathed out. Turning his attention to the responsible person, Tony found his path blocked by the Team Leader.

Taking note of his Senior Field Agent's clenched fists and the look of absolute fury in his eyes, Gibbs verbally reached out to bring him back down. They did not need him to lose his temper and cause this situation to spiral out of control. "DiNozzo."

Tony blinked and looked at the man who'd spoken to him. "Boss."

"Go with Tim." Gibbs' quiet instruction and the use of the probie's given name had its intended impact: refocusing Tony's attention onto the anguished younger man as Tim was now forced to stand by while Ziva made quick work of photographing as many of the younger woman's injuries as she could. Sarah's breathing had become even more shallow and irregular and the paramedics worked frantically to stabilize her with an iv and an oxygen mask.

Together, Team Leader and Senior Field Agent silently watched the paramedics work to save their youngest team member's little sister, not missing the look of utter devastation and pain strewn across Tim's face.

"I don't get it, Boss. He's been so angry about this possibility. Where's that anger now?" Tony broke the silence with his need to understand what was possibly going on in his teammate's head in the midst of this crisis.

"Simmering underneath his concern for his sister. It'll come. Just as soon as the shock wears off, it'll come. Stay with him, Tony." His eyes still on his stricken agent across the room, Gibbs' quiet, compassionate words were barely heard.

The rare show of emotions in the boss's voice struck a chord in Tony and his reply was equally quiet as his own emotions nearly got the best of him. "I will, Boss."

*****NCIS*****

The ride to the hospital was a blur of noise as the siren blared and the medic kept in radio contact with both the driver and the hospital staff. Tim made his own panic-driven efforts to comfort his little sister who wasn't aware of anything going on around her. .He was vaguely aware of Tony following behind in the agency sedan he'd driven to the house. Tim barely remembered that before he'd been helped up into the ambulance after they'd loaded Sarah into it, Gibbs had once more clamped a comforting hand down on his shoulder and quietly told him to stay strong and remember that his sister was a fighter.

Now he watched her struggle to breathe. Seeing all the damage so recently done to her made him so sick to his stomach, he literally remained on the verge of throwing up. He sat beside her, with one hand stroking the hair back from her face and the other holding the one hand of hers that didn't have an iv in it, loosely but with determination. Tim felt his heart breaking into tiny shards and he couldn't stop the tears as they slid down his face or the words that came from his heart before they escaped from his lips." I'm so sorry that I was right about him. Don't you worry; I promise you he won't get away with this."

As the paramedic riding in the back with him kept an eye on the patient, he noticed the change in her breathing and immediately moved to take care of the problem. "Sir, you have to move back. Now!"

Tim quickly let go of Sarah's hand and moved out of the way as the medic shouted toward the front of the vehicle, STEP ON IT, We're losing her!"

Tim watched in horror as his baby sister stopped breathing.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: __DVP (Domestic Violence Protocol) – for the sake of this story – is set NOT up_

* * *

Lost in the fog that had settled over his shocked brain, Tim barely registered the coffee that had been placed in his hands, the arms of his best friend wrapped around him in an effort to comfort him, or even the rest of his team sitting with him in the waiting room. He wasn't even the first one to notice Ducky's return to the room after trying to pin down an update on Sarah's condition.

As the others approached him, Ducky held up his hand to stall their questions and continued on in Tim's direction. Knowing what his long-time friend was getting ready to do, Gibbs plucked a chair from nearby and placed it where the M.E. would be able to sit face to face with Tim and talk to him without having to speak too loudly.

Ducky smiled his thanks in Gibbs direction as he took a seat in the chair and looked the young man directly on. "Timothy."

Hearing his name called, Tim blinked and forced his eyes to focus. Seeing Ducky sitting directly in front of him, his gut clenched. This was too often indicative of bad news and he did not want to hear that. Shaking his head, he offered a firm denial before he'd even heard a word from the M.E.

In an effort to calm his agent, Gibbs once again clamped a hand down on his shoulder even as the M.E. spoke.

"Relax, Timothy. I've _not_ come with bad news. Sarah is still with us."

Collective sighs of relief could be heard all around him as Tim accepted what he'd just been told. Breathing out a sigh of relief himself, the young man finally spoke. "Okay. So, how is she?"

"Surprisingly enough, she has suffered no broken bones, although she is bruised enough that she will most likely feel as though she is in worse shape than she actually is."

"He knew what he was doing." Ziva remarked with a quiet fury.

"Hit her just hard enough to bruise her without breaking anything. Only reason we found anything out at all was because she called Tim." Tony added, too upset to worry about keeping up with the names he was famous for using on his teammate.

"I need to see her." Tim spoke up, obviously forcing himself not to react emotionally to his teammates' voicing of the facts at hand.

"No, Timothy. What you need to do, is go home and get some sleep. She has been sedated and will not be aware of anything until tomorrow." Ducky gently admonished him.

"Doesn't matter." Tim denied as he stood to his feet. "I'm not leaving her."

"Timothy…"

"Duck." Gibbs forestalled any further argument. He knew if he were in Tim's shoes, he'd be doing the same thing, hell, they all would.

"I will take shifts with McGee." Ziva offered. "Sarah has begun to trust me. I may be of some help to her when she wakes up."

"Very well." Ducky agreed reluctantly. "But both of you must be sure to rest and eat."

"We will." Ziva replied seriously.

"McGee. I don't want you driving yourself anywhere until you've had some sleep. Tony, when Ziva takes her shift in the morning, you come with her and drive him home."

"On it, Boss. Where you gonna be?" Tony gave back before he could stop himself.

"Nailin' that bastard to the wall." Gibbs growled as he turned to head out. "Abby, let's go. Plenty of work to do."

Abby kissed Tim's cheek. "She's gonna be okay, Timmy."

Tim nodded almost absently as he looked over at the boss and quietly spoke to him. "Thanks."

Gibbs nodded. "Keep me updated."

Before anyone could answer, the boss was gone with Abby on his heels.

"It will be a little while longer before they have her settled in her room. Why don't we use that time to get some dinner?" Ducky requested to the rest of the group at large.

"Come, McGee. You must eat if you are to be there for Sarah when she needs you most." Ziva backed the M.E's idea.

Tim shook his head in denial once more. "She needed me most before he ever laid a hand on her. Didn't exactly do my job then, did I?"

"Nonsense, Timothy. You did the very best you could with what little cooperation you received from the very people who should have helped you protect Sarah." Ducky chided sympathetically if not a touch firmly.

"My parents, you mean." Tim reasoned out.

"Partly, yes. But, you must of course, hold Sarah accountable as well, for the choice she made to allow him the level of control over her life that she gave to him."

"NO. I don't believe that. " Tim's eyes flashed angrily. "Sarah didn't ask for this!"

"No, of course she didn't, Timothy". The M.E. hurried to explain. "You misunderstand what I'm saying, dear boy."

"McGee. You do not have to think about that right now. Why not just concentrate on being grateful that she will recover?" Ziva tried to redirect the conversation before the abyss of domestic abuse and the fact that his sister had become trapped within it, swallowed Tim whole.

Closing his eyes against the onslaught of what he was feeling, Tim forced himself to calm down. Before he could think further about anything, his cell phone rang. Flipping it open, he barely registered his parents' home number on the caller id as he answered it.

"Tim McGee."

"_Timothy, have you seen or heard from Sarah?"_ His mother's worried voice came through the phone loud and clear.

"Why are you asking me? I've been removed from the family, remember?" Tim couldn't stop the bitterness from invading his tone, even as he reminded himself he was talking to his mother, the one person he was always supposed to respect.

"_I had nothing to do with that, Honey. Please. Can you just answer the question? She was supposed to have lunch with me today but she never showed up and I haven't been able to reach her on her phone since yesterday morning."_

"And you didn't think there was something wrong with that, Mom?" Tim asked with a full blast of anger. "Maybe if you'd bothered to follow up on that yesterday, or even trusted what I was telling you for a minute, Sarah wouldn't be lying in the hospital right now, fighting for her life after that 'perfect son-in-law you and Dad chose to believe over me, beat her nearly to death!" Tim bit out angrily just before he snapped his phone shut as he stood jerkily from the table. "I need some air."

*****NCIS*****

Unable to bear the thought of Tim in mental anguish over the situation with his sister for even a minute, Ziva followed after him, leaving Tony and Ducky behind without a second thought. Rather than crowd him as she followed him through the corridors of the hospital and on through the doors to the outside, she remained at a discreet distance, keeping an eye out for any signs that he'd reached his breaking point and would need a friend to help him hold on.

From across the short distance between them, his voice carried well, as he let her know she didn't need to be so discreet after all. "It's okay, Ziva. I won't bite."

Smiling softly at his attempt to lighten the moment, she approached him and sat down beside him. "Are you alright? No, of course not. That is not what I meant to ask. What I meant …."

Reaching out and laying a hand on her wrist, he stopped her attempts to explain what she'd been trying to say. "It's okay. I get it. Thank you... I'm just in shock that I actually spoke to my mother that way. I've never spoken to her like that in my life before but, it was like I couldn't stop myself."

"I believe you are much too hard on yourself, McGee."

"Maybe. But if my dad hears about it – I'm as good as dead."

"I do not think that he would actually harm you. Would he?"

"Let's just say I wouldn't put it past him." Tim warned in all seriousness. "The winds of war, I guess." He sighed. "I'm gonna go sit with Sarah. Thank you for volunteering to take shifts with me. Guess I'll see you in the morning?"

"Yes. I will be here at 0600."

"You don't have to be so early, you know. Make sure you get some sleep and a good breakfast first." Tim ordered with open concern for her welfare. "Eight o'clock is okay."

"Very well. I shall take over for you at 0800. Do not worry. I will bring you breakfast as well."

"Thanks, Ziva." Tim offered as he turned and headed back inside. He hadn't gone more than a few steps before Ziva was once again by his side.

"I wish to see for myself that she is alright before I go." The Israeli beauty explained.

Tim nodded silently, thankful for his friend and her endless supply of compassion. Together they entered the hospital once more, almost running into Tony as they did.

"Hey. You two going to check on the patient?" Tony asked as he fell into step with them.

"Yes, Tony. I wish to see for myself that Sarah is alright before we leave."

"Hey, I'm cool with that. I'd like to see her, make sure she's okay, too."

"Thanks Guys." Tim offered as they reached the waiting room and kept going, heading straight for the nurse's station, only to find themselves face to face with Ducky once more.

"Timothy, if you're ready to see your sister, I'll show you her room."

Tim nodded silently, still too upset at the M.E.'s suggestion that it was Sarah's fault she was in the shape she was in now, to speak to him. As the group stopped outside his sister's room, the small window in the door gave them a glimpse of her, bruised and battered as she lay almost too still in the hospital bed. Before he could even stop the words, they were out of his mouth in a horrified whisper: "Is she…?"

"Alive. I promise you, Timothy. And she will recover, although I'm sure you're already aware it will be a long road for her to recovery, more psychologically than physically. She will require great patience and support; more than any one person will be able to provide her with, to be sure."

All Tim could do was nod his head. He knew that the M.E. was right, but the shock of just how badly beaten she looked with almost every inch of her being an ugly shade of purple or mottled green, despite having escaped having any bones broken, left him seriously shell-shocked. He wasn't even aware that he'd opened the door to her room; until he found himself sitting down in the chair next to her bed and reaching for her hand; the only one not connected to tubes or probes.

Not even aware that Tony, Ziva and Ducky had followed him into her room, Tim's full concentration was on his sister. As he placed his hand around hers, gently stroking the backside of her hand, Sarah began to show signs of distress. Her heartbeat began increasing and her hand was pulled as if trying to get away from his touch and her head began to toss on the pillow; obviously upset about something. Immediately, Tim released her hand and sat back, stunned and heartbroken as all of her signs of distress instantly faded away.

Ziva knew then that the abuse Sarah had suffered had been severe enough that it resided deep within her subconsciousness and was trying to protect her even in sleep. Knowing that this situation would not improve anytime soon and certainly not overnight, she turned her attention to Tim. There was no reason for him to continue to suffer through this trauma of seeing his sister like this and it was a pretty safe bet that when she did wake up, Sarah would not want to see her brother or any other man for quite some time. It was time to change up the game plan in a way that would work best for Sarah.

"McGee."

Tim's heartbroken expression tugged at her heartstrings, but still she pushed forward, knowing it was the right thing to do. "You need to let me stay with her tonight. Allow Tony to take you home so that you can sleep. Perhaps she will be more ready to see you tomorrow."

"I'm not leaving her." Tim insisted bullishly.

"Timothy. Ziva is right. She is the best person to sit with Sarah for now. Please, allow Anthony to take you home so you may get some sleep. You'll be of no use to her if you are not fully rested and revitalized with a good meal as well, dear boy."

Tim flinched as he heard Ducky's endearment, still upset with him on a deeper level, but he did give up the fight, silently getting up from the chair and walking out of the room without so much as a single look back. Behind him, Tony and Ziva exchanged worried looks with Ducky before Tony hot-footed it after Tim, unwilling to leave him alone with this obviously upsetting turn of events.

*****NCIS****  
**

As Ziva settled into her chair next to the patient's bed, Sarah began to cry out in her sleep, her head tossing back and forth on the pillow as her hands came up defensively as if blocking off a physical attack.

"**No! Please, stop! So sorry! Please stop!"**

Getting up from the chair, Ziva was quick to sit where she could reach out to Sarah and attempt to comfort her through her terror-filled sleep.

"Sarah, it is alright. You are safe now. Listen to my voice. You are safe now.

"**No! Please, stop! I'm sorry. Don't hurt me! Please stop!"**

Suddenly, bolting upright in the bed, Sarah screamed "**AAAHHH!"**

Gathering Sarah to her, Ziva held her just enough that she would know she was safe. Feeling the tremors that wracked the younger woman's tiny frame, Ziva began gently rocking her even as the medical personnel flooded the room.

Turning her head to glare at them, Ziva whispered angrily. "Get out!" She was quick, however, to return her full attention and soothing motions to Sarah as the young woman's distressed cries eased off into muffled cries and even further down into silence as sleep once more pulled her under completely.

Once Sarah had fallen back asleep, Ziva attempted to lay her back down, only to find the young woman's grip on her shirt tighten significantly. Adjusting her position, the NCIS Agent settled in for the night of holding Sarah securely against her while the young woman's head rested on Ziva's shoulder.

Throughout the night, Ziva vigilantly watched for any signs of her beginning to wake up or become stressed out from a nightmare, but the sedative she'd been given proved to be just as Ducky had advised – enough to help her sleep undisturbed through the night, so long as no one touched her other than Ziva.

With a team of doctors, nurses and interns coming in to check on Sarah and her vital signs, it soon became apparent than any time she felt a man's touch, be it, doctor, nurse, intern or her brother, she became acutely distressed until their touch was gone. It was half-way through the night before this became conclusively clear but once it had been figured out, her medical team was immediately changed to that of all females and she was able to sleep the rest of the night undisturbed.


	9. Chapter 9

After a sleepless night spent tossing and turning, the image of Sarah's acute fear and distress at his touch filling his mind over and over again, Tim was mind-numbingly exhausted and completely stretched to his limits by the time six in the morning rolled around. Watching his little sister stress out even as she slept had ripped his heart out all over again, leaving him too upset to even find any traces of sleep. As the sun began brightening the room with its rays of golden light, Tim's eyes finally closed of their own and his thoughts _finally _came to a screeching halt.

Six- fifteen found Tony standing silently in the doorway to his living room, having come to check on his teammate, smiling softly as he watched his little brother actually find the sleep that had evaded him all night. Several times through the long hours, the older man had awakened to the sounds of Tim's tossing and turning and at some points even his restless pacing out in the living room. Knowing it would only add to the guilt under which Tim was already becoming buried; Tony didn't let it be known that he wasn't getting a full night's sleep either. On that thought, Tony walked over to the coffee table and snatched up Tim's phone, immediately putting it on vibrate and taking it to the kitchen where he'd be able to notice any incoming calls without it disturbing Tim's sleep.

Remembering suddenly that the younger man was supposed to be relieving Ziva at Sarah's bedside in less than two hours, Tony stepped back toward his bedroom, opening his phone to make a call as he went. It was time to get an update on how Sarah was doing and time to let Ziva know she'd have to sit tight for a little bit longer than she'd planned. Tim would be pissed; but in the long run, he'd be better off for the sleep Tony was making sure would be undisturbed.

*****NCIS*****

Ziva was awakened by the vibration of her cell phone where it rested in its case on her hip. Glancing at Sarah while she thankfully slept peacefully on, Ziva carefully extracted herself from underneath the patient and slipped carefully from the bed. Watching patiently for a long minute to be sure Sarah would not awaken now that she was alone in the bed, Ziva padded quietly to the door and beckoned to the nurse still on duty from the previous night's shift. The petite woman was gentle natured and had been the one watching over Sarah's care for most of the night.

"Excuse me. I need to go make a phone call. Would you please sit with Sarah so she will not be alone when she wakes up? She has been through enough of an ordeal without being frightened by waking up alone."

"Certainly, Agent Da'vid." Nurse Kelly replied quietly with an encouraging smile. "I'd be happy to sit with her. We've all seen how well she was able to calm down when you sat with her. None of us will leave her alone. Of that you can be certain."

"Thank you. I must call and update her brother on how she slept through the night."

"That poor young man. I heard about what happened while he was here yesterday."

"It was difficult for him, yes." Ziva agreed. "If you'll excuse me. I will make this as quick as I can."

"That's all right. Take your time. Why don't you go get some coffee or tea while you're up?"

"Thank you. I would very much like to do that. Please, call me if you should need me to come back sooner." Ziva replied as she wrote her cell number down for the woman and left to make her call.

Pulling out her cell phone as soon she reached the doors leading to the outside, Ziva hit the speed dial number for Tony to call him back.

"_Hey, Ziva. How is she?"_

"Sleeping. Hopefully she will not notice I am no longer sitting with her and continue to sleep as it was a very rough night to start with for her."

"_Even after Probie left?"_

"Yes. It took some time for the doctors and nurses to understand that Sarah cannot tolerate any man's touch right now. Thankfully, they've been made to understand that, so things should be easier for her. What about McGee? How is he?"

"_Sleeping. Kinda why I called you. It's gonna be a while before I wake him up. So you're probably gonna be there for a while longer."_

"That is fine. I do not mind staying with her for another hour or two." Ziva replied.

"_Not what I meant, Zee. Probie just fell asleep, not even fifteen minutes ago."_

"Why? Did something happen to keep him awake?"

"_I'm guessing he was just too upset about Sarah and her reaction to his touch. I know I'd be knocked back if my sister reacted to me like that, even if she couldn't help it."_

"The phone call from his mother most likely did not help the situation."

"_That's for sure. I think you should give the boss the heads up and see what he wants us to do about this. You need sleep and knowing Gibbs, he'll be pissed if he's not updated. He should know that it looks like you're not gonna be able to get away to sleep."_

"Very well. I shall call him now. You are right in letting McGee sleep, Tony. Look after him."

"_Don't worry. I got him."_

Ending that call, Ziva hit another button and did as Tony requested; prepared herself to update Gibbs on everything that had gone on since he'd left the hospital yesterday. This was not a call she was looking forward to making.

*****NCIS*****

Closing his phone for a long minute, Gibbs stared at it as all of what Ziva had just told him flooded his brain. While he was proud of Tony for making the decisions he'd made for Tim and for Ziva, he couldn't help but continue to feel badly for his youngest agent. Tim had put his entire being – his heart, brain and soul - into trying to stop this situation from happening in the first place and had even come to Gibbs for help with it. The kid had to really be in a bad place for him to have gone off on his mother like that and his reaction to Ziva's question about it sounded like a warning of what was to come. Gibbs knew he needed to be there if and when the McGee's showed up and all hell broke lose

With a deep sigh, the Team Leader opened his phone back up. It was time to call for some reinforcements; for both McGee siblings. "Hey… Gibbs…Need a favor from you….Can you make it this morning? Appreciate it. Noon? I'll be there."

Closing his phone once more, the silver-haired man made a beeline for his coffee pot, desperately needing another shot of the stuff that kept him going. Somehow, he knew it was going to be a very long day. All he could do was be there for his agent and hope like hell that everyone survived the fallout that was coming.

*****NCIS*****

Nurse Kelly noticed the patient waking up some twenty minutes after Ziva had left to make her phone call. As she watched carefully, the patient seemed to drag herself from the peace-filled slumber she'd found, into the wakefulness that she wasn't sure of, as evidenced by the fear that immediately filled her eyes.

"It's okay, Mrs. Richardson. You're safe here."

Sarah's eyes flew to those of the person who'd spoken to her, surprised to find her sitting next to her bed in the visitor's chair. "Where's Ziva?"

Not missing the panic in the young woman's voice, Nurse Kelly attempted to soothe the fear. "She's updating your brother on how you're doing. He'll probably be here real soon to see you."

"I don't wanna see him." Sarah replied immediately, though her tone spoke clearly of the exhaustion and pain that still held her in their grips.

"Are you certain?" Nurse Kelly double-checked for clarification. Such a decree, while not uncommon, was oftentimes quite hurtful to those excluded from their loved ones recovery process.

"Yes." The patient's tone changed, leaving no doubt that she was serious.

"We'll make sure he's informed of your decision." Her caretaker reassured her.

"Good!" Sarah weakly huffed out as she closed her eyes presumably to go back to sleep.

"Alright breakfast should be here soon." Nurse Kelly promised. "Is there anything else we can do for you while you're waiting for to come around? "

"Just Ziva." Sarah declared mutinously, somehow muscling up the strength to make herself clearly heard that time. In addition to hurting like hell, all over, she felt naked, exposed and much too vulnerable to face anyone by herself right now, even this kindly nurse who'd done nothing but ask how she was doing and try to reassure her that she was safe and it was bringing out the worst in her. Ziva had kept her safe all through the night and it was Ziva she wanted to remain safe with. Ziva wouldn't let anyone hurt her, not even her angry brother.

"I am here, Sarah." Ziva announced as she walked through the door. "You are certain you do not wish to see your brother? He cares about you a great deal and has been quite upset about what has happened."

"I doubt it." The younger woman advised tiredly. "He's just thrilled that he was right and can't wait to throw it back in my face."

"If you truly believe that, Sarah, then you do not know your brother very well. In the four plus years that I have worked with him, I have never seen him so upset as he was when we reached you at the house." Ziva replied as she sat in the chair beside the bed once more. Though she knew Sarah needed to rest; it was important that she understand the truth now; rather than continue to believe something so hurtful about her brother. Once she heard what she needed to be told, Ziva would let her sleep for as long as she could.

"I doubt that." Sarah repeated, adding more disbelief to her voice and the conversation. She was completely unwilling to accept the idea that Tim didn't want anything like this to have happened to her. "You probably just misunderstood the look on his face. Happens all the time 'cause he's so hard to read."

"There was no mistaking what I saw. Without regard for anyone else, he stayed by your side from the moment he saw you. His only words were to you, as he attempted to let you know he was there for you, was that he was sorry. He apologized to you repeatedly. Tell me, does that sound like someone who is happy to have been proven right?"

Sarah looked away from both of the women watching her reaction now. Neither Ziva nor Nurse Kelly missed the tears that slid down the younger woman face.

"Do you not recall how upset he was for you at lunch on Sunday?" Ziva pushed just a little more, wanting Sarah to have more than one example to look to as she thought things through for herself. "When he begged you to call him if you needed him?"

When her question was met with cold silence, Ziva pushed harder, wanting there to be no doubt in Sarah's mind, where Tim's heart lay in this mess. "Tim has even spoken with your mother when she called him looking for you. Your brother was so angry he even blew up at her."

"Winds of war." Sarah whispered as her eyes slid closed and exhaustion pulled her under.

While not understanding what she meant, Ziva recalled that Tim had said the same thing just yesterday. She also knew that the young woman needed some time to think about what she'd just been told. Knowing she'd have to wait for an explanation on what she didn't understand, she decided to do what she thought was best for Sarah. She walked with the nurse toward the door and spoke quietly with her to let her know what would soon be going on with the patient.

*****NCIS*****

Ziva did not recall closing her eyes but knew she must have at some point after Sarah's breakfast had arrived and the patient had eaten a few bites before falling back to sleep. Ziva opened her bleary eyes, to find someone else in the room with her. Getting to her feet as she mentally shifted gears into preparedness to stand guard over Sarah, she felt herself relax just a bit when she recognized the newcomer. Gibbs had warned Ziva that he'd send someone to relieve her so she could go home and get some sleep, but he had not told her who that replacement would be.

While somewhat surprised at Dr. Cranston's presence, Ziva also felt relief. Maybe now Sarah could begin to get the help she would need to get through this ordeal. Maybe now she would let go of this belief she had that Tim was thinking only of being happy that he'd been right. Stepping over to the far corner of the room with the good psychiatrist, Ziva smiled softly in greeting. "It is nice to see you again. I am glad you are here for Sarah."

"Happy to help. How are you, Ziva?"

"I am fine. However, it is not myself I am concerned with, but McGee."

"Because of how badly his sister reacted to his attempt to comfort her last night." Rachel reasoned so they'd be on the same page.

"It is not just how she reacted to him last night. She has decided she does not wish to see him and she firmly believes he is happy that he was right about that monster she married. Somehow, she has convinced herself that he is not upset or worried about her; only happy about being right about the kind of person Tom was."

"It wouldn't be a good idea for Tim to visit her while she's thinking this way, Ziva, "

"He is already quite upset about all of this. Being told she does not want to see him will crush him."

"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do to change her mind. And we shouldn't anyway. It's something she's going to have to process for herself."

"Well, I have already attempted to correct her thinking." Ziva admitted.

"What did you say to her?"

"Merely that her brother was extremely upset when we found her and that he apologized to her repeatedly ."

"And her reaction to what you had to say?" The Physiologist asked quietly.

"She had nothing to say, but there were tears."

Rachel nodded. "Okay. Anything else I need to know about?"

"I do not believe so. Although, she did say something I found to be a little - strange - when I relayed the content of the conversation between her brother and her mother to her. Just as her brother said it yesterday when I asked him if he was safe from his father after speaking to his mother in the way that he had."

"Winds of War. Yes, Jethro told me about that. He's probably right in that he was warning us that his parents will not be happy when they get here – it might just be a family skirmish before we're able to stop it. Don't worry about it, Ziva. Go on home and get some sleep. She'll be fine with me."

"Who will break the news to McGee?" Ziva worried.

"I'll take care of it." Rachel promised.

"Alright then." Ziva headed out, looking back just once more at the young woman in the bed who was finally sleeping without any restlessness.

As the young NCIS Agent left Rachel alone with the patient, she immediately drew shade on the door, giving them complete privacy, even more so when she locked the door. Having already spoken to Sarah's doctor and the nurses that had just come on duty for the day shift, she knew they'd be left alone to talk.

Just as she'd promised Gibbs when he'd called her for help, she'd stay until Sarah's parents showed themselves at least. She hoped that she'd get the opportunity to check on Tim McGee as well. From everything she'd heard, he probably needed someone to help him let go of all the weight he was carrying on his shoulders right about now. The question was; would he let her in?


	10. Chapter 10

The glare of the mid-day sun pouring through the windows eventually woke Tim. Feeling like he'd slept a week, groggy with the oncoming pain of a full-fledged headache, he struggled to sit up and gain his bearings. He knew he wasn't at his place and didn't really recognize where he had crashed.

"Hey, Probie. Feeling better?"

With Tony's question reaching his ears; it all came back to him in a flash, bringing with it the renewed sense of heartbreak and pain. His reply to his teammate and friend was so quiet it almost went unheard. "Not really. But thanks for trying." Getting to his feet, he shuffled towards Tony's bathroom. "I'll be outta your hair in a few. Gotta go check on Sarah."

Tony watched him grab up his gym bag and head to the bathroom, dreading the moment in time that was coming where Tim would find out his sister didn't want to see him. Taking this time to give the boss an update, the Senior Field Agent whipped out his phone and did just that. Once that was done, he headed to the kitchen to get his probie a fresh cup of coffee and tidy up the rest of the place while he waited. He knew Tim would want to head out as soon as he came out of the shower and Tony didn't want to have to keep him waiting, no matter what was coming up ahead.

When Tim came out of the bathroom, gym bag slung over his shoulder, Tony handed him the fresh cup of coffee in a paper coffee cup and walked with him toward the door. "Ready to go?"

"Tony, you don't have to disrupt your day for me." Tim reminded him.

"Nothing else is more important than helping you through this, Probie. Thought you'd know that by now."

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Tim offered a small, thin smile of gratitude. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. C'mon, let's get going. Oh and grab that bag right there. That's breakfast and you're not skipping it on my watch."

"Kinda late for breakfast." Tim attempted to joke with a straight face.

"Brunch, then." Tony groused back tiredly.

"Thanks Tony." Tim offered sincerely. "I do appreciate it."

"I know, Probie." The older man let him off the hook. "Seriously, though. You get enough sleep?"

"For now. Can't believe you let me sleep that long! I'm supposed to be staying with Sarah so she won't be alone!"

"She hasn't been alone, McGee. We wouldn't let that happen any more than you would." Tony corrected him firmly.

"Who's been with her?" Tim asked in surprise.

"Ziva until about nine. I don't know who Gibbs asked to relieve Ziva but I'm sure it was someone he trusted to be up to the job."

"Gibbs chose Ziva's replacement?" Tim repeated in shock.

"Yup. Soon as I told him you didn't get any sleep last night and didn't drop off until 6 this morning, he said he'd handle it. Agreed with me that you needed the sleep; told me not to wake you up for anything except if anything had happened to Sarah – which, with someone staying with her – wasn't going to happen."

Tim sat back in his seat in shock. He hadn't expected Gibbs to stay involved in this mess but he was damn grateful for the man's behind the scenes support through all of this. He almost wished he could ask the man to be there with him when the crap hit the fan later today as he expected it would with his parents. But that was something he just wouldn't do. The man had already done more than he should have had to do in helping Tim with this personal problem and now he'd helped Sarah too. Asking him to help him deal with his parents was just too much to ask of anyone.

God, he wasn't looking forward to the impending confrontation. But he knew it was coming and like the tide, there was no turning it back. Knowing he needed to say something to show he really appreciated Tony's help as well, he managed a very quiet. "Thanks Tony."

Tony slid a glance over to the much too quiet young man who was looking a little shell-shocked even while offering the appreciation. Shaking his head in silent amusement, Tony froze when it hit him a moment later that it _wasn't _really funny that Tim was surprised to realize he had the boss's support away from work. That proved that the younger man wasn't used to being able to count on the man to be there for him outside of work. _Why was it such a punch in the gut now – when it had been common knowledge that Tony had just accepted as status quo less than a month ago?_

*****NCIS*****

Mr. and Mrs. McGee arrived at the hospital like a pair of Category 5 hurricanes, their knee-length coats whipping around them as they strode briskly down the corridors toward their destination. Mr. McGee's voice boomed, demanding attention, as they approached the nurse's station outside their daughter's room. "Who do I need to talk to about seeing my daughter? "

The head nurse looked up from her task of inputting the next week's schedule into the computer, at the astonishingly loud voice currently disrupting her floor. Quickly, she got up and made her way out of her office and over to the nurse's desk. "May I help you sir?"

"Yes, I am Commander McGee of the U.S. Navy. I am here to see my daughter, Sarah McGee. Kindly show me where her room is so we can see her."

"Commander, I'll be happy to assist you just as soon as you lower your voice to that of a normal indoor volume. There are sick, wounded and healing people here and they do not deserve to be disturbed this way."

"Do you have any idea to whom you are speaking, young lady?" Commander McGee demanded.

"The question is, sir, do you?" The nurse then turned to the security officer standing out at the desk and waved him into her office. "Now, you have a choice. You can either lower your voice and consider the patients who are trying to recover from whatever illness or mishap that has brought them here – or you may leave without seeing your daughter. Who, by the way, would most definitely benefit from a visit with her mother right about now. The decision is yours to make, but I'd advise you to make it quickly or our security guard here might just lose patience and escort you from the building so he can get back to his regular duties."

"Fine! Now show me to my daughter's room!"

Without batting an eye, the matronly woman glared back at the sanctimonious man before her, waiting for him to dig down and pull out some manners before she was forced to berate him further for his lack of them.

"Please." This entreaty came from the formally silent woman on the man's arm. "Sarah's been through enough. She needs us."

"I agree. However, while in this hospital and especially on this floor, you will abide by the rules and instructions set down by the hospital and especially her medical team. Is that clear?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, sir. That not only will you lower your voice, but if the doctor says your daughter's not to be disturbed for a particular reason, then you will abide by that or you will find yourself barred from this hospital. I doubt you want that to happen when your daughter needs you."

"Let's stop wasting time, then." The commander barked out as he turned to go."Which room is hers?"

"Thirty-four."

With an almost palpable aire of impatience, Commander McGee stomped down the hallway in search of his daughter's room number. It only took him a minute, but when he got there, he received a shock to find that the door to her room was locked and there was a sign on the door that said "Do Not Disturb".

"What the hell is this?" The Commander groused angrily.

"That Head Nurse did warn us, dear." Mrs. McGee finally spoke. "Maybe Sarah's doctor is in there with her right now. I'm sure they'll be done shortly."

Almost as soon as she'd said the words, Mrs. McGee found herself face to face with not a medical doctor coming from her daughter's room, stopping to raise the shade back up on the window as she walked, but a woman whose only identification was the badge clipped to the collar of her shirt.

"Dr. Cranston, is it?" Mrs. McGee asked as she squinted at the name on the badge.

"That's right." Rachel answered warily. "May I help you?"

"We're Sarah's parents." Mrs. McGee explained quietly, fidgeting nervously at her husband's side.

"Oh. I see. I know you're anxious to see her but she's asleep and she really needs her rest."

"What if we promise not to wake her?" Mrs. McGee asked almost desperately.

Rachel frowned, seriously doubting their ability to keep from expressing their emotions at the state in which they'd find their daughter. "I'm not sure what you're expecting to see when you first see Sarah, Mr. and Mrs. McGee. But I have to warn you, it won't be easy to see her like this. And you really can't allow your own emotions to overshadow how Sarah's feeling right now."

"Poppycock!"Commander McGee bit out. "All this talk about feelings is for babies! We want to see our daughter. Now!"

"Arthur, Please!" His wife begged quietly.

Glaring at his wife venomously, the Commander said nothing while he waited for her to invisibly snap back in line, recognizing his authority as her husband in the silent, yet public way he always expected her to.

As Rachel watched the couple in front of her, she imagined she was seeing the played out reenactment of what their daughter had been raised to accept and had in fact just escaped from. Choosing her words carefully, she addressed her newest patient's father. "Commander McGee. As I just explained to you, your daughter needs her rest. I'm afraid your visit will have to wait until she is awake." Rachel insisted.

"Just what the hell kind of doctor are you, anyway?" Arthur McGee demanded.

"I'm the kind of doctor that gets people to open up and admit what they're feeling after they've endured a traumatic event, Commander. Your daughter needed someone to talk to and I was happy to be there to listen."

"Why?" Who asked you to be?"

"Excuse me?"

"Who asked you to talk to my daughter about her husband's way of setting her straight?"

"I did." Gibbs authoritative tone came from behind them, causing all three adults to swivel on their feet and look his way.

"Well, if it isn't Agent Gibbs!" Tim's father mocked the Team Leader's announcement.

"Timothy's boss?" Mrs. McGee asked with a touch of reverence, causing her husband to glare at her again in choked anger.

"Still stickin' your nose in something that doesn't concern you, I see. I'm going to take a wild guess here and suggest that the reason you're here instead of that useless son of mine is because he's too busy feeling ashamed of how he spoke to his mother, to show his face."

"Not here to discuss my agent with you, Commander. Just here to make sure his sister is alright. The agent I had staying with her through the night has gone home to get some sleep herself. I didn't want her to think she was here alone."

"Again, Agent Gibbs, where would her brother be when he should be here with her?" The Commander pushed ruthlessly.

"Right here." Tim's voice cut in from behind the older McGee.

Almost immediately, the Commander swung on his heels, heading for his offspring, fury in every step, when Rachel and Gibbs both stepped between them. Gibbs' fury, while equal to the Commander's, had risen in Tim's defense; but Rachel's first thought was that Sarah not have to witness any confrontation between her father and her brother.

"Why don't you go see your daughter now? It looks like she wasn't able to sleep for very long, after all." She asked as she glanced through the window of Sarah's hospital room door.

Without a second look, Mr. and Mrs. McGee turned their attention to their daughter, marching into her room and closing the door behind them without a moment to waste. Rachel and Gibbs both turned their attention to Tim, whose own eyes immediately went to his sister through the window . As if sensing his eyes on her while locked in her mother'sembrace, , wrapping her up in her maternal protection and love while his father looked on. Sarah locked gazes with her brother, her eyes filled with a relief he knew wasn't because he was there, but that his parents were.

Unable to look away, Tim could only watch as his mother stepped back from Sarah and allowed their father to approach Sarah's bedside, only to see her desperately try to scoot further away from him, her eyes filled with fear while she visibly shook. His father's profile, from where Tim could see it, turned dark and most unfriendly, just before the man turned and looked his way.

Again, almost as if drawn in by an invisible force, Tim's eyes turned to his father, only to find the older man regarding him with unmistakable fury. Caught in the snare of his father's steely gaze, Tim could not move or look away.

Before he even registered that his father had moved, the older McGee was standing in front of him once more, this time his fist flying at Tim's face. "Don't you EVER talk to your mother the way you did yesterday! Who the hell do you think you are, Boy?"

Stunned beyond belief, Tim stumbled under the blow from his father. Feeling disjointed and separated from what was going on, he watched in shock as Gibbs immediately subdued his father and handcuffed him without mercy.

Shaken from the fog of disbelief he'd been shoved into, Tim took a step back towards Sarah's door, needing to see that even though she wouldn't see him, she really was okay. Looking into her room, he was heartbroken to see the horrified expression on her face as their mother sat by silently, her eyes glued to the window through which she'd clearly seen everything. The look on her face spoke volumes as to just how resigned she was to her son's fate, but Tim paid scant attention to his mother since, at the moment, he was only concerned with his sister. The last thing Tim had ever wanted Sarah to see was the way their father had always put Tim in his place behind closed doors, no matter how small or insignificant the transgression happened to be. She'd idolised her father and Tim had never wanted to be the one to take that away from her.

Taking the time to try to calm her with his expression he hoped would show her not to worry, he was trying to let her know that he was okay and that he loved her; but instead had to watch as she looked away from him without giving him the chance to do any of that. She turned her back to him as gingerly as her bruised and battered body would allow, settling into her hospital bed. By the looks of things, she allowed their mother to soothe her to sleep. As he turned back to the fray that he'd somehow managed to tune out while worrying about his sister, Tim looked directly at his boss. He said nothing as his eyes pleaded with the man not to make things worse.

Sending his own non-verbal message back to his agent, Gibbs roughly pulled on the Commander's arms as he spoke clearly enough that Tim would not only hear him, but get the message that no one was allowed to disrespect the authority under which Tim worked. "You're under arrest for assaulting a Federal Agent."

"You're wasting your time. You can't touch me for disciplining my own son." The commander offered loftily, truly believing he would suffer no consequences for his actions.

Suddenly, as if caught up in a bizarre science fiction movie, Ducky, Ziva and Tony all appeared from out of nowhere, his teammates silently taking over the removal of one irate retired Navy Commander from the hospital and escorting him to NCIS, while the M.E. made a beeline for Tim.

"Timothy, come, sit and let me look at you."

"I'm fine. " Tim murmured quietly as he turned away from the older man's concern and headed for the exit.

"Timothy!" His mother's pained cry came from behind him, causing Tim's steps to falter. He paused momentarily, then continued on his way, unwilling to have this scene play out in front of an audience.

With only Ducky and Gibbs left behind as witnesses, Mrs. McGee was quick to follow her son outside without bothering to look at either of them. She was unwilling to let this unfamiliar state of affairs continue between her son and her. She hated that her husband had laid a hand on her little boy that way. After almost forty years of living with the militant controlling man, she'd gotten used to doing everything his way. She had learned a long time ago that things went smoother and were less painful when Arthur got his way and wasn't challenged, especially in public.

Her little boy, though,was notorious for his forgiving spirit and she'd always been grateful for the hurts he'd smiled through and that he'd always remained her cheerful, sweet-natured son, who somehow. She knew this would just be the next drop in the bucket for him; that he'd let it go just like he'd always done before. In fact, this time she was counting on it.


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: My humblest apologies to all of you who were kind enough to review this chapter the 1st time._

_In reading through it myself, I realized the 1st part of it was missing - so I had to repost it._

_Again, I am sorry._

* * *

Knowing his mother would be right behind him, insisting that they talk, Tim hurried toward the vacant taxi sitting up ahead at the curb. He managed to get the door open before she caught up to him, her hand urgently tugging on his sleeve.

"Timothy, Please!"

Unwilling to look at her with his rapidly swelling black eye, Tim kept his head down, since not moving it helped keep the pain from elevating as well. "I can't do this right now, Mo... Go back to Sarah. Stay with her. She needs you."

"But, you're my son and you need me too!"

Refusing to look at her, he shrugged her hand off his shoulder. "Sarah needs you, not me. Don't let her be left alone." Without looking back, he climbed into the taxi and closed the door between them. Laying his now aching head back against the seat, Tim closed his eyes, not even mindful of the concerned look he was getting from the cabbie who happened to be old enough to be Tim's father – and had teenagers of his own. He was too tired and in too much pain to realize he'd inadvertently turned his face so that his mother's last glimpse of him was the black and blue swollen eye that his father had been kind enough to give him.

"You alright?"

The question chock full of concern, startled Tim, who raised his head slightly and opened his eyes to look at the kind man who'd asked. "I will be, Thanks."

"Looks like someone really had it in for you. Looks fresh, too. You get that while you were at the hospital?"

"Yeah."

"Hope whoever did it, got what's coming to them."

"I already did." Tim answered quietly.  
"Hey, son. Nobody deserves to be hit like that. Unless, of course you're cruel to children or a murderer. Somehow, you don't strike me as either."

"Tell that to my father." Tim replied quietly as his eyes slid closed of their own. Suddenly he felt more exhausted than he had last night when he couldn't sleep.

"You're serious? Your father hit you like that?" The man was outraged. "Tell me, you that you didn't let him get away with that! Tell me, that you locked him up!"

"My boss did."

"Good man!"

"One of the best." Tim added without opening his eyes. It struck him then, more than ever, that his boss had been more of a father to him than his own, even before Tim had finally gone to him for help with this mess with Sarah. No matter what his failings or mistakes, the boss supported him, albeit silently and helped him learn and move forward. That was more than he ever had from his own father; the very father that always let him know with physical lessons, what a disappointment he was and that he was not and never would be proud of him. Was it really too much to ask to have a father's love? There had to be something wrong with being treated like a son, more from your boss than from the man that should have been giving it freely all along. Tiredly, he let out the realization that stuck out the most for him. "I've got more respect for him than..."

"Than? Your father? Man, that's harsh. You ever been close to your dad?"  
_  
_"No. I was never good enough for him." Tim admitted, though he had no idea why he was baring his soul to a complete stranger. "I refused to follow in his footsteps so I'm nothing but a failure in his eyes and always will be."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to open up old wounds. Sometimes my mouth gets the better of me." The cab driver offered a small smile. "My missus always says it'll get me in trouble one day, but I like to talk."

This made Tim relax slightly and he returned the smile; albeit a small one that didn't reach his eyes. "Don't worry about it. It's kinda nice to get this off my chest.

"You got any family? I mean your Boss or friends will be willing to listen right?"

"Yeah, but they don't need any more of my problems on their shoulders. They've helped more than they should have had to."

"Sounds like you're cutting yourself off at the knees, son. Times like these are when you need that extended family the most."

"Maybe, but they've already done so much." Tim sighed and shook his head. "I just can't ask any more of them."

"Well, I speak from experience here, but family is family and kin don't think like that. They'll be there for you no matter what. In fact, they'll be more upset if you don't go to them."

Tim snorted and shook his head. "Not my family."

"Not your biological family. We weren't talking about them, son. We were talking about your other family."

"I know." Tim replied quietly. He just wished the same were true for his biological family because they were the ones breaking his heart right now. "I should but...you know they've done nothing but help me where my actually family failed at that. That says a lot."

"It does. It also tell ya that you need to talk to them."

"You're probably right." Tim admitted. "Something to think about, anyway."

"Well, that's something, at least. You sure you're gonna be alright where you're headed?" The man persisted, unwilling to let it go until he knew this young man would be okay.

"Safest place to be. But, thanks." Tim gave back quietly.

"Alright. But, you really should get that checked out." The cabbie suggested. "And don't tell me you did already, 'cause it wouldn't still be swelling up if you had."

Tim smiled softly at the parental persistence and tone. "You have kids, don't you?"

"Sure do! Three of the orneriest, daredevil teenage boys you could ever ask for. Wouldn't trade any of them for anything in the world!"

"I can tell." Tim sighed when he realized that they had stopped outside his destination. "How much do I owe you?"

"You know what, I stopped the clock when I stopped five minutes ago, but you look like you need a break. It's on me."

Tim glanced at the cabbie and shook his head. "Just when you think the world is against you, you meet someone like you. Thanks, I really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it. Just make sure you talk to someone, alright?"

"I will. You've helped. Take care tonight. I know the streets can be dangerous."

"You're my last drop." The cabbie shrugged. "I'm taking the wife out for dinner tonight. It's her birthday and there's this little place she wants to try. The boys have promised to behave while we're out."

Tim smiled warmly. "Have a good time."

"I'm sure we will. Be careful, man."

Tim nodded at the cabbie and offered him one last small smile before stepping out and greeting the guard at the front gate. He had no idea why he'd opened up to that guy, but he was alright and seemed to be one of the genuine people of the world. Shaking his head slightly, he forced himself to refocus. Where in here could he go and still be left alone to think or even to not think? There was only one place; okay, two, that he knew he could safely escape to and be able to count on being left in peace.

A short few minutes later found him almost where he'd wanted to be, having been forestalled by Abby. He should have known that she'd be an un-moveable force because every time her mind was set to doing something, there was no stopping her. Since setting foot in her lab, he'd suffered through hurricane Abby's verbal outrage of Tim's new adornment courtesy of his father, before she finally wrapped herself around him in one of her infamous 'Abby hugs'. The hug itself wasn't too bad, but she had yet to let go. Given their history, he tried to keep his aloof façade in place but his heart ached to be allowed to cry out against the hurts, causing him to mentally falter, and giving her an even stronger sense of his need for her embrace.

"Oh, Timmy. Are you really okay? I mean you're not, I can see that but…I can't believe your dad did that to you! How can he hit his own son like that! I want to…I wan't…How dare he!"

Even though he half expected this from Abby, it wasn't what he needed. What he really needed was some peace and quiet where he could gather his thoughts and push the altercation between him and his father into the deepest recesses of his mind. With a gentle squeeze, Tim finally pulled back. "Thanks, Abby. But I really need to get to work."

"Nope. No can do! No work for you today, Timmy!" Abby cheerfully broke the news to him as if he'd be happy to hear it. "Director's orders!"

"What? Why?" Tim asked in shock. "Tell me, we're not still trying to tie up loose ends in Sarah's case! I was hoping that'd be sewn up by now."

"Oh, it is. It's tight as a drum and not our case anymore. Metro's got all of our evidence and it's a slam-dunk. Tim, don't worry." Abby's tone softened in hopes of reassuring him. "The director's just worried about you and wants you to take some time off after everything you've just been through."

"Time off is the last thing I need." Tim objected vehemently. He didn't mean it to sound so harsh but he knew that if he got lost in work, he didn't have to think about anything that happened; not for the time being anyway.

"But what about your sister?" Abby asked.

"What about her? She has her mother. There's nothing for me to do since she doesn't wanna see me. Not that I blame her."

Abby slugged Tim gently in the arm. She was mindful of the punch in the eye he'd received but knew that changing the way she was with him wouldn't help matters at all. "DON'T you SAY that!" She objected loudly.

"Abby, please." Tim replied without hesitation as her high pitched voice rattled his worsening headache. He really did want to stop talking about this and the fact that Abby was pushing was just grating on his last nerve. "I didn't protect her the way I should have. End of discussion, all right? I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"No! No, it's not! Right, Gibbs?" Abby asked as she looked over at the man whose silent entry still hadn't gotten past her built-in radar. "Tell him he's wrong, Gibbs!"

Taking advantage of Abby's moment of distraction, Tim slipped into her inner office and closed the door behind him. He briefly paused and thought about locking the door just for a few minutes, but that would just cause more bother than it was worth and truthfully, he wasn't rude enough to completely cut his friends out, no matter how much he wanted to be left alone. Completely besieged and overwhelmed with the painful thoughts and memories of all that had transpired within the last 24 hours, Tim never noticed that the boss's eyes had latched on to him from the moment the older man had arrived in the lab and remained fixed on him now with concern. Not only that, but he didn't hear the magnetic door opening to admit Gibbs or realize the boss now stood before him with something obviously on his mind.

"McGee." The boss's tone was surprisingly normal, if not bordering that of concern, enough that it matched the look he still wore on his face. It was a tone guaranteed to get him the results he needed.

Sure enough, Tim looked over at him, although he said nothing, since he could barely think past the pain, dizziness and exhaustion that was beginning to weigh him down. It was amazing how much getting punched in the face could take out of you.

He slumped slightly at the sight of the silent order to step over to the boss's space, given in the form of that crooked finger, and even though he felt defeated, it somehow comforted him. With a sigh, he stood up, not sure what to expect when he reached Gibbs. _A head slap? A dressing down?_ The surprisingly gentle fingers reaching out and taking hold of his chin to scrutinize the damage hadn't even occurred to the younger man; needless to say, Tim was surprised.

As Gibbs carefully turned Tim's face to the right and then to the left, his sharp eye for detail scrutinized the damage he saw before letting his fingers fall away.

Tim felt his boss's gentleness but didn't miss the flicker of cold, steely anger that flashed through Gibbs' eyes. It wasn't aimed at him. Even with the haze of exhaustion and pain hovering over him. Tim knew that deep down. He was grateful to have that confirmed when Gibbs laid one soothing hand on his shoulder as he removed his phone from his pocket. Tim's energy was seriously drained and he felt himself being guided back to the chair as Gibbs made a call,

"Palmer! Got a patient for ya! Abby's Lab. Now."

With a frown, Tim tried to object. "Boss, n…" Gibbs shot him a warning glance and snapped his phone shut. Now sure that the phone call had ended, Tim shook his head. " Boss, I'm fine."

Silently, Gibbs locked eyes on his youngest agent, until Tim sighed and sat back in the chair, completely resigned to his fate. There was no way the Team Leader was going to ignore the injury or the tightness of pain in his Agent's face and was unwilling to let it go untreated. Now that Tim had seen sense, the Team Leader remained where he stood, watching his youngest agent to make sure he was okay, but it wasn't long before he stepped back as Jimmy burst through the lab door in what had to have been a record time, carrying his new medical bag in hand; a very recent gift from Ducky. "Agent Gibbs?"

The Team Leader silently pointed at Tim, leaving no mystery as to the identity of the patient .

"Oh, my God! Tim? Who di…?"

"Doesn't matter, Palmer." Gibbs was quick to nip the question in the bud. "Just take care of his eye and give him something for the killer headache he's got, too."

Tim glanced over at the boss in shock. _How did he know that?_

Approaching the agent in question, Jimmy started to reach out toward his injured face, stopping himself before actually touching it. "May I?"

"Yeah." Tim breathed out with a resigned sigh. "But can we make this fast? I really need to lie down for a minute."

Instantly, Gibbs felt Abby's eyes on him and he turned to glance her way. Exchanging glances with her, he had to admit he understood why she was worried. This young man never complained like this. He had to be feeling the effects of what his father had done even worse than he was letting on; possibly more than he looked to be doing considering the physical and emotional trauma he'd just been put through.

"Palmer, take McGee back downstairs with you. Set him up on Ducky's sofa." Gibbs ordered quietly, looking directly at the Assistant M.E., "Make him something hot to drink, too."

"Yes, sir." Jimmy replied without hesitation

"No!" Tim vetoed strongly.

Gibbs' eyes flew back to his agent and noted his agitation. It was strange seeing Tim so angry and resilient. He turned back to Jimmy and nodded towards the door. "Give us a minute, Palmer."

Without a word, Jimmy quickly left Abby's office and sighed with relief as the door closed behind him.

"Need you to listen to me for a minute." Gibbs ordered his agent quietly.

"Okay."

"I know you're pissed at Ducky right now, but you need to go with Palmer so he can take a look at ya."

Not exactly thinking straight, Tim didn't even stop to wonder how the boss knew that. Instead he offered a slight nod in agreement, which did nothing to hide the pain he was feeling in his head, even as Gibbs kept talking.

"Doesn't give you a license to be stupid, McGee. You need to get this seen to and you need to sleep – or at least rest until this pain is under control."

Tim rose from the chair and stood, stubbornly silent and unmoving. After the day he'd had, Gibbs wasn't about to bully the younger man into anything; but he wasn't about to let him make foolish choices about his own well-being either.

"McGee, don't let your emotions control your decisions, damn it! Use your head!" Gibbs growled, with rising impatience.

"Boss, I'm just tryin' t…"

"To stay away from Ducky. I know McGee and I get it. You're worrying about it for nothing. You know Ducky better than that. He won't corner you. He'll just look out for you like he does the rest of the team." Tim sighed heavily, making Gibbs frown. "And I expect you to let him!"

Tim nodded. "Okay."

Gibbs nodded firmly. "Good. Want you to stay down there and rest up till I come get you."

Again, Tim nodded and agreed. "Okay."

Stepping back, Gibbs gave Tim the space to walk past him out of Abby's inner office to where Jimmy was waiting. He heard the door hiss closed just as Tony and Ziva arrived in the lab.

As Tony opened his mouth to say something, he felt the heat of Gibbs' glare and looked over at the boss. Understanding the silent demand that nothing be said to Tim about his black eye, Tony kept his mouth shut.

Ziva stepped up to her friend and gently touched his face. "McGee, are you alright?"

"I'm okay, Ziva. Thank you." He answered quietly. The altercation and myriad of emotions that preceded and followed had exhausted him and right now the need to sleep weighed him down, made worse by the pain he was feeling.

"He'll be fine. Tony, go with him down to Autopsy. Make sure he stays there. Sit on him if you have to."

"On it, Boss." Tony's answer was immediate, his eyes not leaving his injured friend and teammate.

"Wait, Boss, what about…?" Tim looked over at the older man as he tried to ask the question, only to realize his brain had just shut down on him, despite needing to hear the answer.

"We'll talk later, McGee." The boss ordered. "Go on."

Nodding silently, Tim turned back to the two men waiting to help him get where he needed to go and were on alert to the possibility that he'd need a steadying hand along the way if the exhaustion took him over before they got him down to Ducky's office.

*****NCIS*****

Once Tim had left with Tony and Jimmy, the lab was oddly silent until the sound of the elevator door closing could be heard. Within seconds a small storm of chaos blew in as Abby and Ziva spoke in tandem of their concerns and outrage.

"Gibbs, you were there! Why didn't you stop the Commander from laying a hand on Timmy? I can't believe you let that happen! We have to do something! I don't know how much more he can take!"

"Gibbs, I do not believe McGee will want to be watched over nor will he wish to have Tony be his bodyguard when he does not feel the need to have one."

"HEY!" Gibbs yelled above their racket.

Both women stopped talking faster than they'd begun.

"Abbs, there wasn't much we could do and Ziva, he'll be fine with DiNozzo."

Ziva snorted, eliciting a sharp glare from Gibbs. She looked at him with surprise before narrowing her eyes at him. It was a battle of wills and one that Gibbs had no intention of fighting.

With a shake of his head, he turned to Abby and pulled her into his arms. "Abbs, we gotta carry on as normal right now. There's nothing else we can do. McGee's stronger than you're giving him credit for. He'll be fine. So what have you got on this case?"


	12. Epilogue

**Episode Tag**: _"Man Walks Into A Bar"_

* * *

His anger burned white hot and that scared him more than anything. In all the years he'd watched his mother bend over backwards to keep his father happy and even on numerous occasions practically bend over and kiss the man's feet, he'd never before felt this angry with her.

He'd felt this fury countless times – towards his father. There were so many times he'd butted heads with that man and come out on the losing end. It pained him way down inside now to realize that he'd let all the crap happen and not only to himself, but also to his mother and subsequently, Sarah. Until this… nightmare… had started happening right in front of him, he had never completely comprehended throughout his life what had been going on with his parents.

Thinking back now, Tim recalled several occasions when he'd gone to his father for something: help, advice, comfort, reassurance or, as he'd shared with Tony and Ziva, to give the man his birthday card. His father's reaction to each instance; was to either literally or verbally slap Tim down, then severely berate him for the thought process that had taken him in that direction to begin with. Always, his father _always_ accused Tim of being worthless and not standing on his own two feet.

Conversely, he had never seen Sarah come away from any conversation with their father with anything less than a hug and a expression of his pride in her, some kind of verbal reassurance about her place in his heart. Oddly enough, he never disciplined her. He never spent a single moment teaching her anything, the task of teaching his sister everything a proper married woman should know and practice fell to his mother. Tim could remember countless times when Sarah would do something she wasn't supposed to do or failed to do something she should have done – always for their father. Instead of disciplining her as a father might have done, their father would turn to his wife and angrily blame her for Sarah's shortcomings. Tim heard himself repeating the words now that his father would hurl at his mother every chance he got. _"You're not teaching her right! You're supposed to be teaching her how to be the perfect wife." _

_That was why he forced Tim to stay out of the way when Sarah was falling for Tom! Why he had been so forcibly bullied by his father to stay away – because their father wanted Sarah to marry someone just like himself – and Tom fit that mold completely_! _His father was abusive. He had never said it to himself, never admitted it - and now he did. Commander McGee was perhaps a milder version of Sarah's abuser, but abusive nonetheless._ _And the fact that Tim had never been smart enough to recognize any of this years ago – is why Sarah paid this tragic price for this horrible lesson learned the hardest way possible. Would she ever forgive him for that__?_

As he told all of this to Dr. Cranston, part of him couldn't believe he was doing it and part of him began to feel immensely lighter from that oppressive pile of hurt and anger finally being expelled from the buried places he'd hidden it through the years. Mentally, he remained feeling equally exposed and refreshed all in the same realization. Kate's sister had been careful and persistent enough that he'd finally opened that door and let someone in. The words spoken between them the first time he'd ever met her, came back to him now.

"_What are we supposed to talk about?"  
"Most people talk about their sex life."_

_"You were the one who didn't start out in the military or law enforcement. The only one with an Ivy League Education yet you successfully transformed from probie to special agent."_

"_Who told you about probie?"_

"_You've done an amazing job of growing. You're technically astute, ah, something feels…ah…stunted."_

"_Stunted?" How?"_

"_Women. Deep down, wouldn't you like to be in a committed relationship?_

"_Ya know, I guess I just haven't found the right girl yet."_

"_Maybe. Or maybe you're looking too hard."_

Blinking several times, Tim found himself returning to the here and now; still unsettled with having opened up about his painful upbringing. Other than the few instances of _'tough love'_ he had shared with Tony over the last few years, he wasn't sure how he felt about this new turn of events. Yet he knew that it was far better to have let it out with the good doctor than to have burdened anyone on the team with it, even if Tony had tried to be Tim's sounding board.

"_You need to let it out, Tim. I know. I may not have lived it, but as a cop, I saw it plenty. I know you're busted up because your sister's hurting but won't come to you or even let you in. Who wouldn't be, in your shoes? She'll come around, Probie. You just happened to see her at her worst that night, man. Trust me, if I had thought she was aware of anything that night, I wouldn't even have let you in there with her, much less gone in there with you. She needs time and lots of it. She's just beginning to process it all."_

"Let's take a break." Rachel suggested as her patient showed no sign of having anything further to say. He'd looked completely done in when he'd fallen silent after finally unburdening himself for the past hour. After watching him struggle to get it all out, pacing restlessly with pent-up frustration, she was reluctant to stop but could see that he needed a mental break.

If nothing else, it was clear he needed some time to regroup. She was fairly certain he'd never been given the opportunity to unload his pain, grief or hurt like this before. Being able to do so now, without criticism, limitations or even interruptions, had probably thrown him for a loop, leaving him trying to find his mental equilibrium again. That would explain why he'd been silent for every bit of the past five minutes.

Rachel could almost see the smoke coming out of his ears while the cogs of his brain turned at an amazing speed. _Did this young man ever stop processing?_

Some of what she had shared with Director Vance was about this young man's team back when she'd been asked to do the assessment on each of them, came back to her now and it seemed quite fitting as she processed what she'd just learned about this remarkable young man , big brother and NCIS Agent.

_"…their selfless dysfunction is ultimately why it works. It's clear to me that we all react to life's challenges in different ways. Some fight death. And some embrace its solace. Some recognize their fate, and others do whatever is necessary to alter it. Sometimes we defy other's expectations and occasionally we rise to meet them. But the constant is being true to ourselves. We do what we have to when we have to. We react for better or worse. It's why your team succeeds. But be careful, eventually it might catch up to you…."_

"I'll give you a few moments while I go get a drink. What kind would you like? I'll bring one back for you." Dr. Cranston's quietly voiced suggestion brought Tim back from his memories

He smiled softly as he shook his head slightly in polite refusal to her offer.

She smiled back at him with encouragement. "Sit, relax and unwind. I'll be back in a bit."

As he watched her leave, Tim sank down on the couch in front of which he'd just spent the better part of the last hour pacing. Letting out a deep sigh of exhaustion, he laid his head back against the back of the couch and closed his eyes. He thought back to the very reason he'd given up the fight to keep all of this crap locked away and make his own way back from what his father had done to him: what had been done to his sister despite his best efforts to prevent it - and Sarah's rejection of him.

***Flashback***

_It had been a week since Sarah had been released from the hospital – a week after they had found her beaten nearly to death; two weeks in which Tim had found himself staying with Tony. Yet he felt himself slipping further and further away from his friends and teammates - a little more every day while the full brunt of his father's attitude towards him, along with their combative history, hit him. Each day he worked in silence and felt more alone, still trying to hold down his job – even if it was just at his desk for now. _

_One good thing to have come out of all of this had been the budding friendship forged between Ziva and Sarah; two survivors now determined to help each other get back up and keep going without making the same mistakes again. However, while Tim was profoundly grateful to Ziva, it also left him feeling shut out because his baby sister did not need him. She'd been able to move in with Ziva and everyone's favorite Ninja Chick had taken two weeks off to stay home with Sarah._

_Tim hadn't questioned that development, figuring she was going above and beyond the call of duty and didn't need to be grilled about it. However, he couldn't just sit back and not worry about his sister after what she'd been through. Ziva had taken the time to pull him aside and quietly explain to him that she was doing her best to get his sister to agree to continue seeing Dr. Cranston for herself and to start attending the survivor's group she had located for Sarah. Similar to the one she herself had joined and been saved by, this group would be extremely beneficial to Sarah. Ziva promised Tim to keep him apprised of any problems that would warrant his help – but only if Sarah agreed to it._

_Knowing that battle had been lost before it had even been waged, Tim had let her off the hook. "It's okay, Ziva. You don't have to do anything that makes Sarah uncomfortable. I know you'll take good care of her. Hell, you're taking time off work to do it. Can't ask for more than that. You're already going above and beyond the call of duty."_

"_Call of duty? Sarah is not a duty, McGee."_

"_I know, Ziva. I know. That wasn't…never mind."_

"_Ooh. Another 'American-ism', yes?"_

_Tim smiled softly. "Yeah."_

"_I see. Do not fear, McGee. As you said, I will take good care of her for you. Who knows, perhaps she will come back to you sooner than you think."_

"_I'll manage, Ziva. So long as she's okay. I know it has to be in her own time."_

"_Very wise of you, McGee." She smiled softly._

"_Well, I did learn a thing or two from going to those groups with you before all this started." He replied._

"_Yes, yes you did." She gave him a peck on the cheek and left him in peace as she returned to her desk to get to work._

_That had been just two days after Sarah's release from the hospital. Now, some five days later, Tim was angrier and more antsy than he thought he'd be, just underneath the surface, and although he'd been deemed fit to return to desk duty the day after he'd been assaulted by his father, he was still restricted from field duty and it was driving him crazy._

_The only moment of humor had come when he'd come back from Ducky's office that first day two weeks ago, sporting a new pirate type eye patch, compliments of Abby's creativity._

"_Hey, Probie, you got a new look!" Tony had crowed as the older man had spotted him returning to the squad room on Gibbs' tail at the end of the day. _

"_Yeah, purple just wasn't working for me." Tim sniped back tiredly._

_Silence had dropped into the squad room like a boom, only for Tim to break it with his own self-directed joke. "I mean really, Tony – purple? On me? Even you have to admit this white blends everything just right. Even I can't go wrong with that color scheme, now can I?"_

_Tony hadn't been able to stop the grin from showing up – "Nope, not even you can mess that up, Probie. Not even you." _

_Tim huffed out a laugh while the others all fought to keep a straight face._

_In the midst of their all-too brief moment of humor, Gibbs' phone rang, bringing them a new case. _

_Since then, the days had flown by, a flurry of both work and sleep – with precious little time for anything else since Tim deliberately kept himself busy during any off time he had. Between going to the range and the gym, running, helping Abby with her charity work on the weekends, being dragged, albeit, quietly to one movie after another or playing online games, he left little time to talk to anyone or to think too hard or long about anything. With everything he could – and should - be thinking about, his brain was remarkably blank more often than not, while his body remained forever in motion, as if becoming the physical alternative means for him to vent his frustration. Twice weekly chats with Ziva about how his sister was doing were the only distraction Tim had from his quest to stay as busy as possible._

_Now, here it was three weeks since the nightmare had started and Tim was going stir crazy without having any field time away from the office. In all of this, it was the one decision about which he vehemently disagreed with Gibbs– but he had yet to openly challenge him on it. _

_He knew the man had gone above and beyond the norm for him and for his sister and there was no way Tim could ever repay him for that. With Ziva coming back to work today, Tim's hopes for a less boring day increased and he hoped that her presence would help stave off his rising need to say something to oppose Gibbs' decision, since the man showed no signs of budging on the issue. _

_Sure enough, as the day wore on, Tim did find himself in a much better mood and much sooner than he'd realized; it was almost four in the afternoon. As luck would have it, Gibbs' phone rang, bringing them a new case at about that time, wringing groans of discontent from both Tony and Ziva even as they prepared to gear up. As the team headed out, Tim had reached for his own gear, only to be stopped by a look from the boss that told him he knew better._

"_Boss, I'm fine! I need to be o…"_

"_What you need to be, McGee, is on desk duty! You wanna argue about it, go home instead!" Gibbs barked at him angrily._

_Looking shocked at being dressed down after the man had gone out of his way to be there for him through everything lately, Tim's mouth dropped open._

_Stepping closer to the young man, the boss reasoned out what he needed Tim to understand. "You need time to get your head on straight. Wouldn't be the man I know you to be if you didn't after all that." Gibbs chided him in a much quieter tone. "Soon as I get word that you're cleared – you can go back out. Until then, I need you right here where you can do better what the rest of us barely manage to do at all."_

_With his eyes fixed on his desk, Tim took a minute to absorb what the man was telling him: what he'd gone out of his way to explain.. Once he'd worked through it, he raised his eyes to meet those of his boss – nodded slightly and gave him his cooperation. "Yes, Boss."_

_Sitting back down without another word, Tim got back to work on the cold case in front of him, once again tuning out the world around him. Mentally he head slapped himself, hard. Damn it! What the hell was wrong with him, giving Gibbs a hard time like that? The boss was right and he knew it! It was high time he talked to someone – at least for some of this anger he couldn't shake and did not want to let loose on the wrong person. _

_Stopping in his work, he looked around and cast a silent prayer of thanks for the empty squad room, picked up his cell phone and made the call. _

_***End Flashback***_

Completely worn to a frazzle and mentally exhausted, Tim fell asleep amidst his thoughts.

*****NCIS*****

Dr. Rachel Cranston stepped outside to the warmth of the unusually mild day, instantly feeling the soothing effects it provided. She sat down on the nearest bench and slowly breathed in and out to relax for a minute. She had needed a breath of fresh air after the past heart-wrenching hour and a half she'd just spent coaxing Tim to open up and then watching and listening as he dug deep, ripping away the Band Aids from the wounds of his life history.

Getting the weary, beaten-down agent and big brother of a domestic violence survivor here to begin with had taken a lot of work and persistence from the people who cared most about him, his teammates.

Surprisingly enough, Tim had admitted to her that his initial reluctance had little to do with the fact that Rachel was separately counseling both McGee siblings and more to do with his unwillingness to slow down long enough to face everything. She knew what had changed his mind because he had volunteered that information as well. She had known to expect him soon because she'd gotten a call to prepare her – and also to request something from her in the event that he did show up and actually open up to her.

Looking at her watch, she sighed. Tim would probably be wondering where she was, but then again, he might just be enjoying the peace and quiet she'd handed him. Either way, it was time to honor the request she had agreed to handle, which meant she had a phone call to make before she returned to her session with the young man.

Taking out her cell phone, Rachel dialed the number, taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling as she listened to the ringing.

"_Yeah. Gibbs."_

"Hi. It's Dr. Cranston. I wanted to let you know and you probably hear this a lot; but, you were right – NOT that I completely doubted you. I already knew part of Tim's background which should have been proof in itself, but…."

"_You wanted him to dig deep enough to find it to himself."_

"Yes. I did. You told me he had it in him and that I would see that for myself but I needed _him _to recognize that inner strength for what it is and realize he has always had it. He'll need to embrace it fully if he's going to get through his father's trial next week."

"_He'll be fine." _

"He'll also need to continue to be patient with his sister while she's working through her recovery. I think he's done a remarkable job of patiently waiting and it's become easier for him now that I've tried to explain to him that she is projecting the anger she feels towards herself, onto him because she's not ready to face herself yet. We're lucky her abuser pled no contest and didn't want to go to trial."

"_Doc. They'll be fine. That bastard got his just deserts; five counts of Aggravated Assault– that's 10 years a piece. Add the handful of counts for Threats to Do Bodily Harm and he'll be gone at least fifty-five years. With all the evidence against him, the judge ordered no parole so Sarah's safe and that'll help a hell of a lot."_

" I agree. I understand he and Doctor Mallard almost had a falling out?"

"_He and Ducky have already worked that out. Took a few days for Tim to see it, but once he cooled off and could think straight, he saw what he was being told, as the truth. Problem solved. Like I said, he'll be fine."_

"Gibbs, you've been saying Tim will be fine for three weeks now. I hadn't even seen Sarah McGee for the first time after she was beaten and you were trying to convince me of that. Do you have a crystal ball I don't know about?'

"_Doc, you just said I was right when I told you he was as tough as steel and has what it takes to get through testifying at his old man's trial. Doesn't that tell **you** he'll be fine?_

"No, Gibbs. Not completely."

"_I'm listening."_

"He won't be able to get through everything that's left in front of him from this nightmare alone. He'll need all the love, support and comfort he can get. And I'm not seeing any sign that he's very optimistic about that. What I **am** seeing is fresh layers of guilt being laid down for not recognizing what was going on in his family in time to prevent this near-tragedy from happening to Sarah. "

"_That's not surprising. I kinda expected him to start in on himself about that. But he's not alone, Doc. He knows that. His team has his back. If he needs to be reminded of that, we can do that. It's not a problem."_

"Do you remember what I told you about piling things up inside?" She asked him pointedly as she recalled her own words. _"It's all about response. We keep things piling up inside, even the harshest response seems appropriate."_

"_Not for Tim. He's talkin' to you, isn't he? He'll be fine. Even if he wasn't talkin' to you, he'd manage. We'd make sure of it"_

"I get the impression, Gibbs. That you don't think his mother's refusal to walk away from the man who abused her and his own son, as well as strong-armed his daughter into marrying someone that fit his mold, will adversely affect Tim at all."

"_I know better. But I also know my so… I know Tim. I know my team. He''s not alone in this. He'll be fine."_

"You care more about your team then you let on."

"_Anything for family, Doc."_

***FINIS***


End file.
